Post by cviller on Sept 14, 2007 9:14:39 GMT -5
By Jack Bogaczyk
Daily Mail Sports Editor
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- West Virginia's offense was seeking a spark Thursday night at Byrd Stadium.
What the Mountaineers got was a Devine intervention.
Everyone who knows anything about college football has realized that WVU running back Steve Slaton's 2007 Heisman Trophy candidacy may be damaged by one of his own teammates.
Never did they dream it would be the junior's freshman backup, Noel Devine.
On a night when Byrd Stadium held the fifth-largest gathering in Maryland football history, a crowd of 53,107 and a telecast audience viewing ESPN saw Devine rush into the nation's perspective on more than YouTube.
In his third career game at the same site two years ago almost to the day, Slaton played one play, on a kickoff return unit.
In his third game of his career, the 5-foot-8, 170-pound Devine carried five times for 136 yards -- one fewer than last year's unanimous All-America WVU back had in 26 trips. The fourth-ranked Mountaineers rolled past the Terrapins 31-14.
"Steve tells me to stay hungry, stay humble," Devine said.
Maybe Slaton ought to tell Devine to stay on the sideline.
"I knew he had the talent," Slaton said of the fleet Floridian. "He just needed the opportunity."
Devine has gotten that -- and Coach Rich Rodriguez and his offensive coordinator and running backs coach, Calvin Magee, said Devine will get more.
Just how, they're not quite sure -- but they have a couple of extra days to scheme with East Carolina visiting Mountaineer Field at lunchtime a week from Saturday.
Slaton has 392 yards on 66 carries in WVU's 3-0 start. Devine has an astounding 276 yards on 17 carries.
His 76-yard burst late in the third quarter stopped at the Terp 1 - matching the longest non-touchdown run in WVU history (Jim Moss against William and Mary in 1962).
"I just ran out of gas, man," Devine explained.
The last time the Mountaineers had a longer run was Robert Walker's 90-yard TD in 1993 against Syracuse.
Quarterback Patrick White -- that other WVU Heisman candidate -- had a 76-yarder for a score in a win at South Florida in 2005. A so-so night from White against the Terps made Devine's contribution more crucial.
"He has great quickness," Rodriguez said of his newest flash in the backfield. "He's going to give Calvin Magee and I a great comfort zone."
Devine may also gave them a headache trying to figure out how to get both into the game at the same time behind White. Actually, there is a plan Magee will dust off for the ball-toting duo.
In 2002, Rodriguez's second year on his alma mater's sideline, West Virginia made a one-season improvement from 3-8 to 9-4 and reached the Continental Tire Bowl playing two tailbacks - Avon Cobourne and Quincy Wilson.
They gained a combined 2,611 rushing yards.
"Steve and Noel are very comparable to those two, but both are faster than Avon and Quincy were," Magee said. "Quincy was big, not as big as (fullback) Owen Schmitt, but 214 (pounds) and big legs, powerful. Avon was quicker than Quincy, but the best part, he was just tough.
"Steve is a deceptively strong kid, and he's faster than Noel. How much, I don't know. We haven't measured that. Noel is very quick. He runs lower to the ground than Steve, and that makes it tough to pick him out (as the play develops at the line of scrimmage)."
Devine "is smaller, and he's shiftier than me," Slaton said. "I run more straight-up than him. He's low with the ball."
WVU played Cobourne and Wilson in tandem quite a bit in 2002. Magee said the Mountaineers will brainstorm to find ways to put Slaton and Devine in the backfield with White.
"We've talked about that a lot," Magee said. "We'll talk about it some more."
Rodriguez never expected so much so soon from Devine. The rookie Mountaineer agreed with the coach's assessment that Devine has been a quick learner and "is like a sponge" in soaking up what he needs to play at a level where the game is even faster than in quality Florida high school football.
"Yeah, I soak it up like a sponge in practice, but then I get in the game," Devine said, "and the crowd goes crazy. I've got to get used to that, get used to that atmosphere."
Did he ever think he might be the one creating much of that atmosphere?
"He's an amazing athlete," WVU starting left tackle Ryan Stanchek said. "He's the real deal. Everybody has seen his highlights."
True, but those were at North Fort Myers High School. This is different.
Devine opened eyes in Mountaineer wins against Western Michigan and Marshall, but this was another step, against a big-time ACC program, on the road, and one that has had similar success to WVU under Rodriguez in Coach Ralph Friedgen's seven seasons.
"We're going to continue to bring him along in the right way," Magee said of Devine. "And Stevie is Stevie. Everybody knows what he can do. We played Avon and Quincy together. We can do something like that again."
