West Virginia Mountaineers Football Preview 2011: Here Come 11 Wins?

Dana Holgorsen has the Mountaineer fan base hyped to a fever pitch, causing expectations to run rampant. Will Geno Smith and company be able to lead the Mountaineers to a BCS Bowl like the fans expect?

If you were to say it had been a dramatic offseason in the heart of the Appalachia’s, that would be an overwhelming understatement. Dana Hologorsen was brought in to be the heir apparent to Bill Stewart, leaving Stewart in a rather precarious position.

Then the summer approached and rumors started swirling about Holgorsen’s possible behavior off the field, specifically at a casino in the Nitro area of West Virginia, as reported by the Associated Press. The assumption? Dana had a drinking problem and needed to get it under control. The truth? Bill Stewart had a problem with the decision to place him as Holgorsen’s on-site trainer and decided to take matters into his own hands.

In the end, the future head coach won the battle and Stewart was kindly shown the door–ushering in the official era of Dana Holgorsen and his 5,000-yard quarterbacks.  

The excitement surrounding the hire of Coach Holgorsen is roaring for good reasons. He headlined some of the nations most potent offenses during his time at Houston and Oklahoma State, and one quick look at the job he did with Brandon Weeden and the Cowboys offense last season will provide the evidence needed.

Holgorsen is a natural and studied the game under the likes of Hal Mumme and Mike Leach, two of college football’s most potent offensive minds. With the talent returning to Morgantown in 2011, there is reason to assume that they will possess one of the country’s most high-octane offenses this season. A refreshing outlook for a fan base that has often, over the last several years, watched their offense not take advantage of dominating performances by their defense—something that will no longer be an issue.

Jeff Casteel and his dominating 3-3-5 defense suffered heavy losses to the NFL this past season, but they possessed enough talent within the two-deep to accompany the pass-rushing terror, Bruce Irvin. An even more potent offense to partner with Casteel’s nasty defenses and you can easily see why hopes are high in West Virginia.

Quarterbacks

Geno Smith may be the happiest human being in the entire state of West Virginia heading into the season. Smith, who produced at a high level during his sophomore campaign, is headed for a breakout season. He threw for nearly 2,800 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, and is now under the tutelage of a coach that regularly has his quarterbacks tossing for over 5,000 yards.

There was a bit of concern last season about Smith’s rushing ability, but that was alleviated when word spread the he played the entire season with a broken foot, limiting his mobility. Geno has all the tools, intangibles and talent surrounding him to be a high-profile Heisman trophy candidate this season.

The only concern at the quarterback position is the lack of a quality back-up quarterback. Brian Athey and Paul Millard will be fighting tooth and nail to claim the safety valve position behind Smith.

Running Backs

Noel Devine left West Virginia as the career all-purpose yardage leader, but fans will consistently wonder what could have been with him. Injuries derailed Devine during his senior year and his assault on the WVU record books. Now, the coaches are looking to find a replacement for the production that Devine provided—specifically, one that will fit nicely into Holgorsen’s system.

Shawne Alston left spring practice with the idea of winning the starting job, but he will be challenged immediately by incoming freshmen Andrew Buie and Vernard Roberts, who played exceptionally well in the spring.

Buie is a versatile back that can blast between the tackles or be a threat to reach the perimeter with his speed. His most valuable asset to the WVU offense will be his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, a necessity for this new offense.

Whoever wins the starting job will have an ability to produce quality numbers behind a talented offensive line and a dangerous offense.

Receivers

Geno Smith and Dana Holgorsen are going to have plenty of options where they can throw the ball–this will be the most talented group of receivers that coach Holgorsen has worked with during his coaching career.   

Tavon Austin, Bradley Starks, Stedman Bailey and Ivan McCartney are a talented and steady group of wide receivers that provide a consistent effort. They should transition nicely into the new spread offense that will be in place and see a dramatic increase in production.

Tyler Urban, Coley White, J.D. Woods and others will provide significant depth at the position.

Offensive Line

The last four seasons have shown a slow but steady decline from the days of averaging 6-yards per carry and dominating the line of scrimmage. Last season the struggles reached a crescendo with an unimpressive 3.9-yards per carry and over 25 sacks allowed on the season. However, the unit returns nearly intact, and in the high-pace Holgorsen offense, will not be asked to protect quite as long, significantly improving the sack numbers.

Left tackle Don Barclay, an All-Big East talent, will return to protect Smith’s blind side and lead the charge for this unit. He will be joined by Jeff Braun, Joe Madsen and, most likely, Tyler Rader up front.  

Quinton Spain, Pat Eger and others will help provide depth to the unit, which will help increase their production.

Defensive Line

Heading into the season, the defensive line appears to be the strength of this unit, led by the return of sack artists Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller. Irvin and Miller combined for 23 sacks in 2010 and are one of the most dangerous defensive end duos in the entire country. They are expected to wreak havoc throughout Big East play, and both are capable of making a run at All-American-type campaigns.

The departures of  Chris Nield and Scooter Berry will cause some issues, but with the returning talent of the aforementioned ends, they should be able to offset the losses. Shaq Rowell is the most likely candidate to replace Neild at the nose tackle position of the 3-3-5.

Depth appears to be the most likely issue entering play on the defensive line, but even without the excellent depth of 2010, this unit will still be one of the Big East’s best.

Linebackers

Coach Casteel has quite a rebuilding job on his hands revolving around his linebacker corps. Anthony Leonard and J.T. Thomas have departed, leaving little experience along the second line of defense. Najee Goode is the lone returner with any significant experience, and he will be joined by incoming JUCO transfer Josh Francis. Francis has an ability to be an immediate impact player and may be the most talented player in this group by the time the season approaches.

Doug Rigg, Tyler Anderson, Casey Vance and a whole flock of others will be fighting over the remaining snaps that are available at the linebacker position. No matter the eventual decision, this group will still be down significantly from the 2010 group.

Defensive Backs

The defensive backfield joins with the linebacker corps to form a back eight unit that is unproven, inexperienced and has unsure expectations. Keith Tandy, the most talented and reliable returning starter in the back eight, will headline the defensive backfield. Tandy is a first-team All-Big East performer and will provide a veteran presence in the defensive backfield.

Tandy will be joined by the return of Terrance Garvin and incoming freshman Terrell Chestnut, who has an opportunity to earn playing time immediately if he makes the transition to the defensive backfield.

Final Synopsis

West Virginia is a school that follows their program with an intense passion that is only rivaled by those schools in the Southeastern Conference. I have even referred to them in an article for Southern Pigskin to be willing to walk over the devil’s flames just to watch a Saturday football game.They are passionate and that is what makes them so great—sometimes over the top, but great.

They have a genuine excitement heading into the 2011 season, and rightfully so. They possess a Heisman Trophy candidate at the quarterback position and now have one of the hottest names in college football patrolling their sidelines—a combination that would have any school jumping with jubilation.

Mountaineer fans will find out early in their schedule if this team has the moxie to make a run toward a BCS Bowl berth. Louisiana State comes to Morgantown on September 24th and that will be a game that ultimately decides the fate of the Mountaineers' season.

If they win that game, which is very plausible, it could send them barreling toward a 12-0 season and a shot at playing for the BCS National Championship. If they lose that game, their softer Big East schedule will make it extremely difficult for them to enter that kind of territory with a single loss.

Whatever the situation, I fully expect the Mountaineers to win the Big East Championship and have another tremendous season that will see them in and around the Top 10.

Last Year’s Record: 9-4

Projected 2011 Record: 11-1