West Virginia Mountaineers: Keys to a 2010 BCS Championship

In the winter of 2008, Mountaineer fans everywhere were livid over the loss of potential star QB recruit Terrelle Pryor, along with a certain head coach.

Pryor ended up signing with The Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Mountaineers went searching for a replacement and found Tajh Boyd, another potential top QB recruit. Eventually, Boyd decided WVU’s offense was not good enough. He and his father went south, literally, to Clemson.

Finally, Eugene Smith signed on and accepted the challenge of carrying the torch that is WVU football’s quest for a national title.

Currently, Smith finds questions swirling about his ability to lead the Mountaineers to the Promised Land—something no quarterback in Mountaineer history has done.

Mountaineer football is still the team with the most wins in the FBS without a national title.

Since Rich Rodriguez’ second season as head coach of the Mountaineers, the quarterback position at WVU had been stable. Rasheed Marshall started the stability; subsequent quarterbacks had continued that trend.

Sure, there were question marks entering the 2005 season with Adam Bednarick slated as the starter. Still, the 2005 season ended up becoming the beginning of the modern glory years of WVU football.

Fans should remember that it was a fateful Saturday afternoon during the 2005 season that saw Bednarick injure his ankle against Louisville. The backup quarterback that day was none other than Pat White. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 2010, as Smith goes, so goes the Mountaineer offense—or does it? Football, after all, is a team sport.

Regardless of the quality of play at the quarterback position, if there are no receivers to catch the passes thrown, quarterback play becomes a moot point.

Alas, as with the quarterback position, the receiver position at WVU appears thin entering the 2010 season. There is certainly pedigree on the roster, unfortunately, that pedigree has yet to show itself on the field.

So, what does a football team do when there is youth at both the quarterback and receiver positions? Most teams turn to the running game to carry the load, both figuratively and literally.

WVU football certainly has the running back to achieve that goal in senior Noel Devine. With an exceptional year, Devine could become the career yards leader at WVU. With a mediocre year, Devine should end the season in second place on that list.

Further solidifying the running game is fullback Ryan Clarke. With Devine’s lightening to Clarke’s thunder, the running game enters 2010 as the strength of the offense.

Jeff Mullen is entering his third season as the offensive coordinator at WVU. Prognosticators and fans alike have slated 2010 as the season that defines Mullen and his ability to coordinate an offense.

The 2010 season will certainly define a coach at WVU, although his name may not be Jeff Mullen.

Dave Johnson, the offensive line coach, holds the key to the success of the 2010 Mountaineer football team. How his offensive line plays will determine the success or failure of the 2010 Mountaineer offense.

No matter the quality or ability of the individual running the ball, or throwing it, without exceptional blocking all is for naught.

Bill Stewart announced in March that Johnson would add offensive run coordinator to his list of duties. The assumption being that by integrating Johnson into the overall offensive game plan will result in a more cohesive attack. Something the 2009 version of the Mountaineers were too often lacking.

The stability WVU had enjoyed in the quarterback position was mirrored by the success of its offensive line. That offensive line stability began its descent at the end of the 2006 season.

WVU’s offensive line started the 2008 season with their third coach in as many years. Longtime offensive line coach Rick Trickett had departed for Florida State after the 2006 season.

Greg Frey was brought in as his replacement from South Florida for the 2007 season.

Questions have swirled, since his arrival in 2008, about Johnson’s ability to coach an effective offensive line.

The 2008 version of the Mountaineer football team began the season with pundits stating the offensive line to be one of the best in college football. The play the offensive line displayed fell short of those expectations.

Many blamed Johnson as the reason for failing to reach the lofty expectations.

To be fair, a drop off should have been anticipated. Even with the returning talent that WVU possessed, that talent had been taught a different scheme than the one Johnson attempted to employ.

After the 2008 season, when Greg Isdaner chose to forgo his senior season at guard and enter the NFL draft a year early, Johnson was blamed for his departure.

Many drew the correlation that Isdaner did not feel that Johnson could help him improve his NFL draft status with another year of experience under Johnson’s tutelage.

With the early departure of Isdaner, and the graduation of Ryan Stancheck, Jake Figner and others, WVU entered 2009 with a young offensive line. With the inexperience came a lack of depth.

That inexperience and lack of depth translated to inconsistent offensive line play in 2009. An inconsistency that further fueled questions regarding Johnson’s ability as offensive line coach.

For 2010, WVU returns four starters on the offensive line, the lone loss being Selvish Capers to graduation.

The depth that was not present in 2009 appears to be present for the 2010 season. WVU should field an offensive line with the eight, or nine-member rotation necessary for consistent play.

Championships are still won in the trenches, by controlling the line of scrimmage. Any hope of a Big East title in Morgantown, and subsequent BCS bowl, rests on the shoulders of those men in the trenches.