1st and Ten –
The Right Pieces, the Right Offense – Maybe because it’s the
Big East. Maybe it’s because Morgantown isn’t as fancy a place
as Salt Lake City or Gainesville (that’s tongue in cheek,
folks). So many ‘people’ were convinced that the spread option
offense couldn’t work at the major college level. Utah’s spread
was so good in 2004, but you know, it was only the MWC, as the
critics suggested. After Urban Meyer’s version of the spread
bit the dust against Tennessee early in the season (although
they won), the talk throughout the nation was that offense would
never be successful at this level of football. But, the problem
was that the West Virgina spread option offense never stopped
working; however, similar to what happens in Vegas, what
happened in the Big East was staying in the Big East. No team
would ever have success against the SEC speed with an offense
like that. SEC defenses are way too fast. In that case, then
how fast are the defenses in the Big East that actually slowed
down Rich Rodriguez’s Mountaineers? Because WVU’s charges
exploded past the Georgia Bulldogs, from the same SEC that the
critics hailed would eat this offense for breakfast, in the
Sugar Bowl as though they were standing still, in particular, QB
Pat White and RB Steve Slaton. And, therein lies the rub, with
that young, precocious duo. It is the only out that the ‘spread
offense’ naysayers have – Slaton and White make that offense
go. They could make any offense go. If the Mountaineers ran
‘old school’ wishbone triple option, they would still carve up
defenses like your local butcher slices up genoa salami. Many
think White is the straw stirring the drink, and the command
that he has of this offense is quite impressive. But, Slaton is
so explosive when he has the ball in his hands, he takes this
offense up another complete notch. When he got into the
secondary against Georgia, quite frankly, the film looked to be
going in fast forward. The problem was that he was moving at a
pace that the red and black wasn’t. But, once White started
feeling more comfortable with the passing game and the reads
within this offense, that’s when this offense got scary. So,
who’s more important? Does it really matter? Maybe the better
question is who’ll stop them if they can handle adversity that
they couldn’t handle in 2004. Then, people can understand once
and for all – it’s never about the scheme, it’s about the
pieces. And, West Virginia’s ‘pieces’ are exceptional. End of
story.
2nd and Seven –
A big piece in the middle – This Mozes won’t walk on water
or offer any commandments, all Dan Mozes does is control the
middle of the Mountaineer offensive line, doing it well enough
to be one of the best centers in all of college football.
Similar to his West coast counterpart USC’s Ryan Kalil, Mozes
isn’t a huge 300 pound ‘fat guy’, but when it comes to coming
off the ball and technique, he’s tremendous. He maintains a low
base and gets leverage on most every defensive lineman that he
faces. He won’t wow you with 5 yard drive blocks, but he
doesn’t miss guys either. Mozes has good feet and if he has to
be a position blocker on the backside to eliminate any backside
pursuit from DTs, he’ll do that. With having to find two new
offensive tackles, Mozes is that much more valuable in the
middle to keep that quintet together and focused. They don’t
have to do much to open holes for Slaton, White and Owen
Schmitt, but Mozes’s first commandment, oh shoot, sorry, no
commandment comments.
3rd and Three –
A piece of Boo – Nicknamed “Boo’, Kevin McLee was one of the
guys that had to step up in 2005, if the Mountaineers were to
have a big season. Hmm, seems as though, he took care of his
responsibilities. McLee was a big-time play maker throughout
the season, registering 78 tackles, along with 7 tackles for a
loss. With his speed and his ability to be in the right place
at the right time, McLee is invaluable to this defense. The
ability to step up and play against the run, as well as blitz
the corner gives McLee his ‘role’ on this defense. Jay Henry
also returns at the linebacker position and will put a hat
through you as a ball carrier, but McLee gives West Virginia the
dynamic presence that is needed to stop the offensive attacks in
this league.
4th and One –
New pieces in key places – Two key losses on defense in the
secondary are safeties Mike Lorello and Jahmile Addae. Okay,
maybe using the label safety on Lorello isn’t exactly 100% on
point, but that’s what made him great – he could morph into a
weakside linebacker role just as much as he could play in
coverage. Addae didn’t have the best 2005 season, but he was a
physical presence in the middle who hammered anyone who ventured
into his area. But, with those two out of eligibility, the onus
falls on Eric Wicks to take over the leadership role in the
secondary this year. Wicks played throughout the year at strong
safety and had a solid 61 tackles and 6.5 tackles for a loss.
However, Wicks is a known commodity, but Quinton Andrews and
Ridwan Malik, potential free and bandit safety starting
candidates, are not. The good news is that Andrews has the
coaching staff licking their chops about what he can bring to
the defense. With the new pieces in place, the secondary will
be on the spot throughout the season, especially when they visit
Papa John’s late in the year – and it won’t be for pizza.