Post by cviller on Sept 10, 2007 7:49:32 GMT -5
This article will lift your spirits!
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
HUNTINGTON -- Barely 75 seconds into his postgame press conference Saturday, and actually in the middle of an answer to a question wondering what made Steve Slaton so good in the second half against Marshall, West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez veered off topic.
Insert your Devine Intervention quip here.
"We've got to get Noel into the game sooner," Rodriguez unexpectedly said of his freshman running back, Noel Devine. "Steve got tired and Noel had fresh legs. We've got to get more confidence in him. He's learning what we do very quickly and when he's got the ball in his hands, he's got a gift."
In his second collegiate game, the true freshman from Fort Myers, Fla., had five carries for 76 of WVU's 362 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 48-23 victory against Marshall in the second Friends of Coal Bowl.
The Mountaineers had 511 yards of offense -- the second consecutive game they've surpassed 500 and 16th time in Rodriguez's seven seasons. They trailed at halftime, 13-6, and might have been down more if not for a conservative decision by Thundering Herd Coach Mark Snyder to run 20 seconds off the clock while inside the WVU 10 and kick a 26-yard field goal as the first-half clock expired.
The Mountaineers owned the second half and outscored Marshall 42-10, which was actually the final score of last year's game at Mountaineer Field.
Late in the game, a noisy, noticeable mass of WVU fans among the record crowd of 40,383 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium roared as Devine first broke off a 39-yard run, then two plays later sprinted to the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard score.
"I think he's an absolute stud," left tackle Ryan Stanchek said. "Anybody who sees him run can see he flies. He reminds me a lot of Steve."
That is perhaps the ultimate praise in that particular locker room, yet not even Slaton can disagree.
"I think he might be more talented than me in the first year," Slaton said. "He has that kind of ability."
That ability is about to come a step closer to the forefront. Rodriguez said Devine's proven so much so soon that there should be no hesitation to put him in and let him go.
"I feel comfortable with the offense," Devine said. "It's kind of simple now. At first, it was hard to pick up. You've got to get used to the offense and feel comfortable with everyone you're playing with."
WVU plays at Maryland Thursday night on ESPN and the addition of Devine is an apparent necessity. He's amassed 120 yards and three scores on just 12 carries this season.
"He keeps making plays, so why not put him in there?" quarterback Patrick White said. "He's a playmaker, so why keep him off the field?"
In truth, it's already started. Devine returned his first two kickoffs Saturday, the first for 25 yards, the second for 19. He spelled Slaton early in the fourth quarter, and with the game still in doubt he scored on a 12-yard run to give WVU a 34-23 lead.
More Devine would provide Maryland with more dilemmas. WVU's offense already portends a plethora of problems. White was 13-for-18 -- three passes that should have been caught were dropped --- for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and he's completed 64 percent of his passes for 341 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 125 yards and another touchdown.
Slaton rebounded from a frustrating first half, when the Marshall defense conspired to hold him to 2 yards rushing, to finish with 146 yards and two scores.
Add the now-obviously dangerous Darius Reynaud, who had eight receptions for 126 yards and two scores against Marshall, and Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen would rather not have to worry about Devine.
Yet he's coming, fast, and he gave everyone a glimpse with the 39-yard run after he found a hole and raced through to hit the outside.
"Whatever you see at this level, you've got to take it," he said. "It's a lot faster than high school. In high school, I probably would have scored."
Should Slaton struggle early for a third straight game, it might make sense for Rodriguez to give his star a break and force the defense to divert its attention elsewhere. Devine appears able to run the same plays, meaning the offense wouldn't have to change if the personnel did.
So how much responsibility would Rodriguez be willing to give to Devine?
"As much as he can handle," Rodriguez said. "Our offense can appear more complicated, but we can keep it simple for him."
Rodriguez said he didn't run many plays for Devine, implying there are others marked for certain situations. If nothing else, Devine personifies this idea that WVU hasn't shown everything it can do just yet.
It is the unknown that works best in WVU's favor in a short week. The Terrapins can only prepare for what they've seen. They must worry about what they have not.
Given the nature of the season-opening rout against Western Michigan and the fact the offense changed its philosophy and opted for a straight-ahead powerful approach in the second half against Marshall, the Mountaineers are coyly confident they have more than they have offered thus far.
"We showed a lot, but not as much as we usually do," Reynaud said. "The first two games were more about coming out to establish the offense. We've got a lot of stuff we do in practice we haven't put into he game, stuff we want certain teams to see. This game, we didn't pull out all the stuff we can do, so the next game, we'll do a little me you haven't seen yet."
By Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sportswriter
HUNTINGTON -- Barely 75 seconds into his postgame press conference Saturday, and actually in the middle of an answer to a question wondering what made Steve Slaton so good in the second half against Marshall, West Virginia Coach Rich Rodriguez veered off topic.
Insert your Devine Intervention quip here.
"We've got to get Noel into the game sooner," Rodriguez unexpectedly said of his freshman running back, Noel Devine. "Steve got tired and Noel had fresh legs. We've got to get more confidence in him. He's learning what we do very quickly and when he's got the ball in his hands, he's got a gift."
In his second collegiate game, the true freshman from Fort Myers, Fla., had five carries for 76 of WVU's 362 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 48-23 victory against Marshall in the second Friends of Coal Bowl.
The Mountaineers had 511 yards of offense -- the second consecutive game they've surpassed 500 and 16th time in Rodriguez's seven seasons. They trailed at halftime, 13-6, and might have been down more if not for a conservative decision by Thundering Herd Coach Mark Snyder to run 20 seconds off the clock while inside the WVU 10 and kick a 26-yard field goal as the first-half clock expired.
The Mountaineers owned the second half and outscored Marshall 42-10, which was actually the final score of last year's game at Mountaineer Field.
Late in the game, a noisy, noticeable mass of WVU fans among the record crowd of 40,383 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium roared as Devine first broke off a 39-yard run, then two plays later sprinted to the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard score.
"I think he's an absolute stud," left tackle Ryan Stanchek said. "Anybody who sees him run can see he flies. He reminds me a lot of Steve."
That is perhaps the ultimate praise in that particular locker room, yet not even Slaton can disagree.
"I think he might be more talented than me in the first year," Slaton said. "He has that kind of ability."
That ability is about to come a step closer to the forefront. Rodriguez said Devine's proven so much so soon that there should be no hesitation to put him in and let him go.
"I feel comfortable with the offense," Devine said. "It's kind of simple now. At first, it was hard to pick up. You've got to get used to the offense and feel comfortable with everyone you're playing with."
WVU plays at Maryland Thursday night on ESPN and the addition of Devine is an apparent necessity. He's amassed 120 yards and three scores on just 12 carries this season.
"He keeps making plays, so why not put him in there?" quarterback Patrick White said. "He's a playmaker, so why keep him off the field?"
In truth, it's already started. Devine returned his first two kickoffs Saturday, the first for 25 yards, the second for 19. He spelled Slaton early in the fourth quarter, and with the game still in doubt he scored on a 12-yard run to give WVU a 34-23 lead.
More Devine would provide Maryland with more dilemmas. WVU's offense already portends a plethora of problems. White was 13-for-18 -- three passes that should have been caught were dropped --- for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and he's completed 64 percent of his passes for 341 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 125 yards and another touchdown.
Slaton rebounded from a frustrating first half, when the Marshall defense conspired to hold him to 2 yards rushing, to finish with 146 yards and two scores.
Add the now-obviously dangerous Darius Reynaud, who had eight receptions for 126 yards and two scores against Marshall, and Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen would rather not have to worry about Devine.
Yet he's coming, fast, and he gave everyone a glimpse with the 39-yard run after he found a hole and raced through to hit the outside.
"Whatever you see at this level, you've got to take it," he said. "It's a lot faster than high school. In high school, I probably would have scored."
Should Slaton struggle early for a third straight game, it might make sense for Rodriguez to give his star a break and force the defense to divert its attention elsewhere. Devine appears able to run the same plays, meaning the offense wouldn't have to change if the personnel did.
So how much responsibility would Rodriguez be willing to give to Devine?
"As much as he can handle," Rodriguez said. "Our offense can appear more complicated, but we can keep it simple for him."
Rodriguez said he didn't run many plays for Devine, implying there are others marked for certain situations. If nothing else, Devine personifies this idea that WVU hasn't shown everything it can do just yet.
It is the unknown that works best in WVU's favor in a short week. The Terrapins can only prepare for what they've seen. They must worry about what they have not.
Given the nature of the season-opening rout against Western Michigan and the fact the offense changed its philosophy and opted for a straight-ahead powerful approach in the second half against Marshall, the Mountaineers are coyly confident they have more than they have offered thus far.
"We showed a lot, but not as much as we usually do," Reynaud said. "The first two games were more about coming out to establish the offense. We've got a lot of stuff we do in practice we haven't put into he game, stuff we want certain teams to see. This game, we didn't pull out all the stuff we can do, so the next game, we'll do a little me you haven't seen yet."
