Oll Stewart is pleased with his first all-out recruiting class at WVU, and, let’s be honest, he’s got incentive to be so optimistic.

“People have no idea what that (Meineke Car Care) bowl game did for us in getting what we needed in this class,” Stewart said. “The fact we showed how we can throw the ball, while winning, it meant a lot … a whole lot.”

In WVU’s 31-30 bowl victory over North Carolina in Charlotte, recent graduate quarterback Pat White completed 26-of-32 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns. A program that has pretty much played with a 75-25 run-pass ratio in recent times had 43 percent of its plays through the air.

“We never could sign receivers here. Now, we can, and we did,” Stewart said. “We got what we wanted – good character, good student-athletes, guys with grades, and speed, speed and more speed.

“We needed a quarterback (Eugene Smith, a Parade All-American) and we got the receivers we wanted and needed. There’s one thing we did that I thought was very important, too.

“We needed to get some balance. We needed to get some balance on offense to keep throwing the ball. We needed balance overall. The program was out of whack with so many offensive players, too many. Now, we’ve helped the defense. We’re more balanced than we have been on our roster.”

He went on to say many other interesting, insightful, intriguing things about many other people, places and things, but not the TBA, even though he was asked about it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the greatest football staff in America that we have here at West Virginia University. These guys did a bang-up job, a tremendous job, and our football staff has been just outstanding. Our players, and maybe some don’t put as much stock into their players as we do, but when you bring a young man in, sometime during his visit I talk to the young man that is hosting him and tell him to tell me about him and to tell me from the heart. I want him to reach down and tell me if he really wants him to be part of this football family. I put a lot of stock into what the players say. Our players play — they don’t call plays and they don’t do a lot of things but when we bring a young man in, I want their input. Heavily do we lean on our players, so to them I want to say thank you.
 
I have 24 players that I will briefly touch on. First and foremost, everyone wants to talk about the quarterback. We signed one quarterback, Eugene (Geno) Smith. He played for one of our former players here, Damon Cogdell, and we had Geno in camp and I know he is going to bring some exciting times to West Virginia.
 
We have three running backs in Shawne Alston, Tavon Austin and Daquan Hargett and they are three fine running backs. We have a big back in Shawne Alston. We needed a big back and we met that need. We have two fast cats in Tavon Austin and Daquan Hargett. They are shifty, fast, low who will stick their foot in the ground and go.
 
We have a tight end, fullback/H-back in Chris Snook. He is a fine young man. We’re very pleased with Chris Snook joining the family.
 
We have four wide receivers: Stedman Bailey, who happens to be Geno (Smith) counterpart down in Florida, Logan Heastie who is now here in school, and they tell me he gained eight pounds with weights and eating three square meals a day. That’s good. Deon Long and Terrance Moore add to the receivers and I’m very glad about that.
 
We have five offensive linemen. Cole Bowers and Pat Eger, one out of West Virginia and the other out of Clairton, Pennsylvania. Nick Kindler is a big tackle out of Pennsylvania, Ryan Spiker who is a tough guy from Ohio and Jordan Weingart who I think just plays full-speed every snap out of Florida. These five linemen will be contributors to this great
offensive line we already have here. They’re young but these guys will make us better.

We have 14 men on offense and on the defensive side of the ball, we have three defensive linemen and I’ll tell you the surprise of this class was Dominik Davenport. He’ll play, watch this guy because he never stops. Curtis Feigt is a big guy up the road and Tevita Finau. We’re very blessed that he (Finau) stuck with us. He’s been a man of his word and I’m so pleased that he is going to finish up and come join the Mountaineers.
 
We have a young man here who is not on the list of 24, named Chris Palmer. He was on last year’s list. He came in in January, had a shoulder problem, got that fixed and he’s here now. As is Logan Heastie. I wanted to mention them in the same breath.
 
We have two linebackers. Branko Busick out of the Ohio Valley, was the state wrestling champ as well and is a good little guy. Taige Redman, we are very thrilled and blessed to have him.
 
We have three safeties and we really did well with these safeties. Darwin Cook, thank God for Bobby Huggins because we wouldn’t have gotten this guy if it wasn’t for basketball so I’m deeply indebted to Coach Bob Huggins and one of his guards over there in basketball. They’re peers, and they did a great job of getting him signed up. Terence Garvin, who after I’ve been to his home, I’m not sure if I’ve met a better young man. He is special. And then Jonathan Scott out of Florida. These are three fine safeties and I’m talking, real fine.
 
The two corners we signed are Brodrick Jenkins and Pat Miller, out of Florida and Birmingham, Alabama. Certainly Patrick White and Ellis Lankster, doing what they did, being named co-captains for the South squad in the Senior Bowl, was a big lift for us for landing Patrick Miller.
 
That’s the 24 and I can talk about each and every one if you ask me. I don’t know what this class means, other than on paper. Let me tell you the marching orders we took as a football staff. Here are our marching orders and it will never change as long as I’m standing here at this podium. It will never change, the quality of men we have here coaching the Old Gold and Blue. One, bring me men. Bring me character; bring us and West Virginia character. First and foremost that was the marching orders to what we were trying to establish as a football staff. Bring us character is No. 1 to what I think would assemble with as good a group of young men in the nation are the guys down lifting right now. We want character young men. Why? Because we went out to the Valley of the Sun last year, 125 men, eight days and seven nights and we had one curfew violation and we whipped an opponent that no one said we could whip.

There are character men in this program. Monday to Saturday, we went down to the city of Charlotte. Everyone in America said we were playing below our standards and that we should be in the New Year’s Day bowl. They said we didn’t compete, that we didn’t do as well as we should have. There was not one curfew bust. We did not have one problem from those guys. We have character men at West Virginia University. Your state flagship university is highly represented by character men. That, first and foremost, was what we wanted to go out and replace those character men who have departed, the senior class. That was accomplished.
 
Number two; it is still student-athlete last time I looked. Garrett Ford is not the only one who gets emotional on graduation day; most of us old timers do. Student-athlete. The student is very big here at West Virginia University. The second marching order was, bring us students. Bring us grades, bring us young men who don’t only listen to their moms and dads, who not only walk down the halls of their schools and communities with great character fashion, but who are good students. That was accomplished. Academically we are excited.
 
Number three; bring us speed. We think we’re fast in the BIG EAST. We think — play fast, we think — we showed that in bowl games the last few years here. Bring us speed. Our coaches went out and found speed. They look fast to me; we obtained speed.
 
Then we wanted to get some type of athleticism in here. They have to be able to play the game and that’s fourth. Maybe you all don’t agree with that, maybe the people in America don’t agree with that but that is how we recruit at West Virginia University; character, grades, speed and athleticism.
 
We as a staff do not care if they are one star or 10-star. All we know is that they are our stars. They have not hit one person, they have not broken up one pass, they haven’t carried one yard, they have not thrown one pass, and they have not caught any balls. I don’t know if they are worth a pile of beans, and we won’t know that for three years. We don’t have any crystal balls but on paper they look pretty good. But I do know this, they will be good character men while they are here and they are going to attend class and do the best they can academically.
 
Now, if they turn out to be big-time football players that will be a blessing. I don’t know how good they will be because the game changes, but I do know that they will fit in with our guys well, and if that’s good enough to win some games down the road, then we did ok. We will know in about three years and hopefully they will help us win some games and get a league title because that is our goal. That is it in anutshell.
 
On his top priority position-wise

We needed help on the defensive back end; the safeties and corners. We have nice young men here and on paper they look like they can help, but we won’t know until we get them in here in August. We needed back end help first and foremost. But remember, they haven’t seen the speed of the game in the BIG EAST. When they see Jarrett Brown throw the ball around in camp they’ll see that it’s a different speed. They’ll have to work hard.
 
On the possibility of additions to the list

There may be. We might look at a guy or two, but we just don’t know yet. We have room for them, and we could have room so we might have somebody. Right now, this is what we have.
 
On Tevita Finau academically

He’s very close to being eligible. He’s working very hard, and I’m very pleased because Tevita Finau is a man of his word. He chose the Mountaineers, and he has chosen them over and over and over, and I just wish people would let him be.
 
I don’t know if this group right here could beat the Cheat Lake Chargers, but we’ll find out in about three years.
 
On Eugene (Geno) Smith

I liked him when he was up here as a junior in camp. I thought he was special. His coach is a former Mountaineer and that’s all that matters to me. I trust and believe in Damon Cogdell. Damon tells me that he works, and he takes 50+ players with him to church with him every Sunday. Now, does that mean that Eugene Smith can throw a football? I don’t know, but the first thing we said, in terms of character, he is everything we’re looking for. He is everything the state flagship University is looking for, and he is everything West Virginia is looking for. This is a fine, fine young man and he is a good student as well.
 
On whether or not these players will make an immediate impact

Not yet. I don’t think any of these guys will play next year. Right now, we have our guys lifting and working hard and they are going to fight back. You have to dethrone the champ, you have to knock out the champ in order take his job. No one is going to give up their job and not one of these 24 guys was guaranteed a thing other than that they can
come in and work hard. I can promise you that as good as Geno Smith is on paper and on his high school film, Jarrett Brown and Coley White are going to fight. Always remember that about a Mountaineer. They are going to fight you as long as they can stand. When they can’t stand they will fight you off their back side. That is how Mountaineers do it.
 
On Geno Smith’s play compared to Pat White and Jarrett Brown

He is a combination of both. He can zip, pitch and catch, and he can run well enough to get out of trouble. I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on Geno. You have to let these guys be freshmen.
 
On the crop of wide receivers

Landing wide receivers — that game down in Charlotte didn’t do us any harm. It’s very difficult to recruit wide receivers when you block 70% of the time. Now does that mean that we are going to turn into the BYU of the East? Absolutely not, but I do love to throw the football. I call it passing, because anyone can throw the football. But when you pass the football, you have a chance to win any game. Still you have to run the ball, and that is always going to be our forte. They can all run. But if they can run and catch, that will be the key. But I go back to Bradley Starks and Alric Arnett. These guys better be really good if they are going to come in and take their jobs.
 
On how he measures character

That is a feel thing. The first thing is to find out as much as you can about the young man. We as coaches go out, and we want to see how they handle stress. How do they handle stress when it’s finals time? How do they handle tests? You talk to the counselors, to the coaches, and you talk to the teachers. We cannot talk to enough people in a high school about these student athletes. And they better be students first, because it does no one any good to bring in a kid and for them not to make it. We look at transcripts then you go to the school and see what kind of work habits they have. How are they in the classroom? Do they participate? How do they treat the young guys and gals in the hall? How do they treat their teachers? Two of the best people I talk to when I go recruiting are one, the school custodian, and number two, the school cook, and that will never change. I find the custodian and I find the school cook. How do they ask when they ask for seconds? Do they say please and thank you? That weighs heavy on me. Maybe that doesn’t way heavy on some coaches but that weighs heavy on this staff and these coaches.
 
On Taige Redman

Taige Redman is a classic example of if you do your homework; there are enough good guys out there that you can find that can fit into this system. When I think of Taige Redman, I think of Ben Collins, Bobby Hathaway, and I think of Marc Magro. That’s the kind of guys I think about. It’s all about character.
 
On the running backs

Let’s do it by alphabetical order so there is no preference. Shawne Alston is a big back. He is a big, strong back who will hit it up in there and he will bang it out. If you look at how many yards he has, wow. He is strong, big and he is tough. And he has a great smile.
 
Tavon Austin. (Coach) Lonnie Galloway goes into Baltimore, uncharted waters, Coach told me that he went in and had a wonderful dinner with grandma last week. Great hospitality and it couldn’t have been a better home visit. Lonnie Galloway goes into Baltimore and knocks those people out. Why? Because he has built a solid relationship with Tavon Austin. He can get it and go in any direction. He is like lighting in a bottle and he is special. He’s quick.
 
Daquan Hargett. He takes that thing, sticks his foot in the ground and is so fast.
 
One is a big, strong back. One is a guy that can go out and play in the slot a lot like Jock (Sanders) and then Daquan Hargett can stick his foot in the ground and run. Now, that’s against high school competition. We’ll see when J.T. Thomas hits them in the mouth up here and Reed Williams cracks them in the mouth saying, “Where are you going now, little man?” We’ll find out how good and tough they are then.