Missed another Ed Pastilong announcement press conference, but his Mountaineers will play at least 15 games on national television this season … including a peculiar Big East opener at Seton Hall on CBS the day after Christmas. I’ll be divorced inside three years, I know it.
How about Feb. 3-17 for a defining stretch?
“I remember writing that and it’s kind of crazy,” the 6-foot-4, 255-pound sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, said. “Going up the stairs that day, I had a book bag on, five books in the bag, I had a hoodie and sweats on and I was going up five flights of steps. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something with steps. They’re always going to get me. But when you’re out on the field, you’ve got the adrenaline rushing.
“The crowd hypes you up. There’s a lot going on to help you out.”
A lot has been said and written about the personal reinassance of Ryan Clarke — 30 or so pounds lighter, admittedly surrounding himself with better people and hobbies — and we saw Saturday the much-discussed faith in the redshirt freshman was more than just talk. Two short-yardage carries, two successes and a hand in 10 points for the Mountaineers.
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The man has good taste. Absolutely.
You’ll remember the field-rushing chaos from last season’s “upset” down in Greenville, N.C. It sparked an investigation into claims of brutality, but also generated some street cred for Pirates fans. They haven’t stopped since and some high-profile folks seem to be in midseason form.
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Noted stair climber Julian Miller had a pretty nice day Saturday: seven tackles, three TFLs and 1.5 sacks. As you’d probably expect, it caught the attention of Saturday’s opponent. Skip Holtz, who, frankly, I can’t get enough of, said Miller gives WVU a “different dimension.”
“He’s an athletic defensive end who can run around you, shed a block, run down a ball carrier, can make some things happen,” Holtz said. “He’s disruptive. He certainly was last week. I thought, ‘Wow, where did he come from?’ It’s something different than what they’ve had the last couple years.”
Well, not much different than Johnny Dingle, who was here two years ago, though Miller is longer, a little bigger and more athletic. Point is, Dingle was very good at getting into the backfield (does nine sacks, 19 TFLs surprise you?) and Miller flashed a similar ability Saturday. He also showed a certain disdain for the opponent Tuesday.
On his feelings on quarterbacks
I don’t like them. I try to let them know it with my pads rather than my mouth.
Of the four late-preseason inquiries made by the NCAA’s eligibility center, the one aimed at Pat Miller’s academic status was the most concerning for the Mountaineers. Oh, sure, WVU didn’t want to lose Jerrard Hunter, who was eventually shown the door, or offensive lineman Pat Eger and doesn’t want to lose safety Jonathan Scott, who is still being held up by the process.
Miller, though, was going to play cornerback. This year. WVU needs players at cornerback. This year. He and Eger were cleared and while Eger is likely to redshirt, Miller played late in the second half against Liberty and did OK, up to and through the play where he was about to make a play on a corner route, only to see 6-foot-5 Robert Sands swoop in and catch the ball out of bounds.
And if the name Pat Miller sounds familiar, you watch too much MTV.
“You don’t want to be on the cameras looking bad,” he said.
Understand that means more to Miller than most anyone else. He played his high school ball for Hoover High, in Hoover, Ala. His freshman and sophomore years were documented and delivered by MTV’s “Two-A-Days,” a show that used unobstructed access to follow the Buccaneers throughout the seasons.
“It gets you ready for a lot of different things,” he said. “I was a lot better because of it. Someone was always watching. If someone messed up, it was on camera and you messed up on TV. It taught you consequences to the way you act, the way you practice, the way you play, the way you do anything.”
Not bad for a debut. Tyler Bitancurt ties a Mountaineer Field record and wins Big East special teams player of the week. Bitancurt is the first WVU freshman to make four FGs in a game. The last WVU player to kick four field goals in a game? Pat McAfee against Rutgers in 2006, which was also Jarrett Brown’s first career start. McAfee’s number? 40. Bitancurt’s?
That said, Bitancurt, who wore No. 31 last season, is wearing McAfee’s No. 40 this season.
“I didn’t pick the number, but I like it,” Bitancurt said. “It’s my new jersey. It’s the new me.”
A day late this time, but game week begins again. Every beginning comes from some other beginning’s end, so let’s wrap up week one before preparing for the anticipated ECU rematch.
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