West Virginia quarterback Pat White chose to play for the Mountaineers in part because former coach Rich Rodriguez promised White he’d get a chance to play quarterback instead of getting moved to wide receiver or cornerback.
White repaid the promise by becoming the greatest running quarterback in NCAA history. White’s 200-yard performance in last week’s win over Louisville pushed his career rushing total to 4,292 yards, breaking the record of 4,289 held by former Missouri quarterback Brad Smith.
White’s speed and playmaking ability mean he’ll get a chance to make it in the NFL. The question is, where?
Smith was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft and has carved out a niche for himself as a wide receiver and special teams player. Smith has thrown all of two passes – both incompletions – in his two-plus seasons.
The coaches who have spent the last four years trying – unsuccessfully – to stop White are a little divided on just where White will fit in at the next level.
lso an assistant at Texas for part of Vince Young’s career, said White has the skills to be an NFL quarterback.
“I think Pat’s style is different,” Robinson said. “He can throw the football and with (West Virginia’s) new system this year he’s grown just as far as total package. It’ll take some learning still, but I think he’s got a really good shot.”
Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe, who helped coach Drew Bledsoe to the Pro Bowl as quarterback coach with the Buffalo Bills, said White’s future depends on what kind of situation he finds himself in after getting drafted.
“It depends on whether they want to use him as a runner or not,” Kragthorpe said. “The (Atlanta Falcons) started to do that with (Michael) Vick there toward the end of his tenure there. They did some of the zone reads and the design runs to put the ball in his hands. It all depends on what team drafts him and where they end up playing him.”
Kragthorpe said White has made great strides as a passer this year – he threw for 122 yards and two scores against the Cardinals – but that White’s slender frame could be a risk down the road.
“The difference between playing quarterback in college and playing in the NFL is the physicality of it, the hits you’re going to take and the number of hits you’re going to take,” Kragthorpe said. “So when you decide to run the quarterback, you better know there’s a time bomb.”
‘t focused on his burgeoning record count or his NFL prospects just yet, reiterating after the win over Louisville that he simply wants to help the Mountaineers win their last two games and get ready for what could be a fourth straight New Year’s Day bowl appearance.
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COMING CLEAN: Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly can admit it now, he’s not quite sure how things were going to work out for Cincinnati’s ever-rotating stable of quarterbacks.
Injuries have forced five different players to take snaps for the Big East-leading Bearcats this year, though Tony Pike now seems to have a firm grasp of the job despite playing with a broken left arm.
All the Bearcats need to do to complete their surprising run to the title is a win over Syracuse on Saturday. From the outside, it looks like the Bearcats haven’t missed a beat no matter who is under center. It hasn’t always looked like that on the inside. Though Kelly repeatedly promised his players everything was going to be OK, even he had his doubts.
“We lied and lied and lied,” Kelly said. “We were nervous because we didn’t know how it was going to play out.”
Considering the delirium that came upon Nippert Stadium in the final seconds of last week’s win over Pittsburgh, when fans stormed the field and pelted the turf with oranges, representing the Orange Bowl berth that will likely go to the Big East winner, things are going pretty well.
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FATHER’S DAY: Adrian Dantley was national player of the year at Notre Dame, played an important role in the Irish’s stunning upset in 1973 that ended UCLA’s record 88-game winning streak, was the leading scorer on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that captured the gold medal in Montreal, twice led the NBA in scoring in his 15 years in the league, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in April.
And yet those who know him best know he’s not an excitable guy.
“I wouldn’t say he’s a dull individual,” Dantley’s son, Cam, quarterback of the Syracuse Orange, said with a smile. “Not many things get him going, even if you try really hard some time. You’ve got to catch him at a good time or a certain day.”
Cam tried real hard on Saturday and succeeded. After tossing the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of a stunning 24-23 upset of his dad’s alma mater.
Cam had a voice mail message waiting from his father.
“Just to hear the way he was excited, his voice started getting higher,” said Cam, who wears No. 4, the number his father wore with the Utah Jazz. “I hadn’t really talked to him yet. It was just the message.
me, it was the only time he was really excited.”
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BOWL PICTURE CLEARING UP: With two weeks to go in the regular season, the bowl picture is starting to get a little less murky. Kind of.
The conference champion – either Cincinnati or West Virginia – will get the Bowl Championship Series bid, almost certainly the Orange Bowl.
As for where the other five bowl eligible teams are headed, well, it kind of depends. South Florida seems like almost a lock to play in the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl while UConn’s fan base would have a relatively short commute to Toronto for the International Bowl.
West Virginia, if it doesn’t win the conference, would likely head to the Sun Bowl. The Gator Bowl, which the Mountaineers won two years ago, is likely to exercise its option and pick a Big 12 team instead of a Big East team to face an ACC foe.
Rutgers, if it wins its season finale against Louisville to cap a remarkable turnaround, seems a safe bet to play in the papajohns.com Bowl with Pittsburgh heading to Charlotte for the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Of course, all of this could change in the next two weeks, which is why Rutgers coach Greg Schiano hasn’t broken out the tea leaves to see where he’ll be spending the holidays.
“I know we’re bowl eligible and that’s about the extent of it,” Schiano said. “I am not overly concerned right now.”
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rformance earned him Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. In addition to the NCAA QB rushing record, White also set a Big East mark for career touchdowns responsible for with 98, breaking the old record of 96 held by former Syracuse star Donovan McNabb.
Syracuse defensive tackle Arthur Jones was named the Defensive Player of the Week after a spectacular performance in the win over Notre Dame. Jones had 15 tackles – the most by a defensive down lineman in the conference this year – including four tackles for loss and 1 1/2 sacks.
South Florida wide receiver/returner Dontavia Bogan was selected as Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 66.5 yards on two kickoff returns in a 17-13 win over UConn.
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AP Sports Writer John Kekis in Syracuse, NY contributed to this report
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