West Virginia Mountaineers
Overall Rank: #19
#1 Big East
West Virginia Team Page
2010 Record: (9-4, 5-2)
2010 Bowl: Champs Sports Bowl vs. North Carolina State (L 7-23)
Coach: Dana Holgorsen (First year at West Virginia, 0-0 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Dana Holgorsen
Defensive Coordinator: Jeff Casteel
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Ryan Clarke, RB, 291 yards
Passing: Geno Smith, QB, 2,763 yards
Receiving: Tavon Austin, WR, 787 yards
Tackles: Terence Garvin, S, 76
Sacks: Bruce Irvin, DE, 14.0
Interceptions: Keith Tandy, CB, 6
Other Key Returnees: WR Stedman Bailey, OT Don Barclay, OT Jeff Braun, LB Najee Goode, C Joe Madsen, WR Brad Starks
Key Losses: DT Scooter Berry, RB Noel Devine, S Sidney Glover, CB Brandon Hogan, G Eric Jobe, LB Anthony Leonard, DT Chris Neilds, WR Jock Sanders, S Robert Sands, LB J.T. Thomas
New coach Dana Holgorsen has big changes in mind for the offense. Gone are the days of running the ball and the high flying era of West Virginia football is underway. Yet, the ground game still plays an important part of the offense. Noel Devine is gone and a handful of players are looking to fill that void. Shawne Alston and Trey Johnson are the slightly more experienced options, but freshman Vernard Roberts had a great spring and could get the starting nod. No matter who plays, it is vital in order for the offense to work to have a quality rusher who can mix it up.
Strengths:
A strong running game sets up what the Mountaineers want to do…throw the ball. Quarterback Geno Smith is a great fit for this high flying offense. He has been an extremely accurate and smart passer. Coming off of a season in which he threw for 2,763 yards, 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, Smith is in for a huge season. He has the weapons to work with too. Tavon Austin is a speedy little receiver who caught 58 passes for 787 yards and eight scores a year ago. Brad Starks and Stedman Bailey are also experienced receivers. However, this team will run out of four receiver sets most of the time so some more targets will need to be found. That should not be too hard with experienced players like Tyler Urban on the roster and a whole slew of talented youngsters. The offensive line should be strong, but a season ending injury to guard Josh Jenkins in the spring game adds a few more questions. Left tackle Don Barclay is a stud and center Joe Madsen is a smart upperclassman. Thus, the team needs to replace both guards instead of just one, but there are seniors in Tyler Rader and Chad Snodgrass who will help fill the void. Coach Holgorsen will have this offense moving by the time Big East conference play starts in October.
Weaknesses:
The hope and expectations are that the offense will be a dynamic passing machine that can put up a ton of points. That may be the case sooner or later, but it has been the WVU defense that has been winning games. This is a team that gave up just 13.54 points per game last season. However, seven starters are gone and there is a ton of rebuilding to do. The numbers will not be as good across the board either as the defense will spend more time on the field as the offense either scores quickly or throws three incomplete passes and lets the defense do their thing again. The good news is that defensive end Bruce Irvin and tackle Julian Miller are back. Irvin tallied 14.0 sacks last season and is a nice consistent pass rushing threat in the Mountaineers three man front. The linebackers will take a step back without Anthony Leonard and J.T. Thomas. Najee Goode is the lone returning starter and will have to emerge as the leader of the unit. The secondary will have a lot of new faces as well and could start a couple underclassmen. Strong safety Terence Garvin is a sure tackler who led the team in that category with 76 last season. Replacing Brandon Hogan at corner will not be a problem with Keith Tandy on the roster. However, replacing Tandy on the other side of the field could prove to be a major issue.
The Bottom Line:
The Bill Stewart situation was an odd one. He was supposed to be the head coach at West Virginia this season with Coach Holgorsen as the offensive coordinator. Holgorsen was then to take over the head coaching duties in 2012. Eventually the Mountaineers opted to skip that weird transition year and just make Holgorsen the head man right now. It was awkward in the short term, but with games just around the corner, none of that will matter. When West Virginia gets on the field, it will be all about football.
Projected Bowl: Orange Bowl
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 159.69 (50th in nation, 4th in conference)
Passing Offense: 213.00 (67, 2)
Total Offense: 372.69 (67, 2)
Scoring Offense: 25.15 (78, 5)
Rushing Defense: 86.46 (2, 1)
Pass Defense: 174.62 (11, 3)
Total Defense: 261.08 (3, 1)
Scoring Defense: 13.54 (3, 1)
Turnover Margin: -.38 (80, 7)
Sacks: 3.46 (2, 1)
Sacks Allowed: 2.08 (71, 5)
Madness 2012 NFL Draft Rankings:
#43 Keith Tandy
#71 Bruce Irvin
#98 Julian Miller
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