When looking at the success of a college football program, a lot of people judge a team on how many players from the school are sent to, and successful in, the NFL. For a while, WVU was one of those schools who had success in the college ranks, but never sent too many successful members of its squad into the professional realm.
The team that comes to my mind first is the 2007 Mountaineer team. Now, 2007 might not have been that long ago, but since 2007, WVU has changed head coaches twice. The Mountaineers were one win away from competing for a National Championship and had two Heisman Trophy contenders on their offense.
Pat White, who went on to be the first QB to win four bowl games and who, then, was the NCAA’s All Time leading rusher at QB, was the field general. With Steven Slaton on one side and a bulldozer in Owen Schmitt on the other, this offense was one of the best, if not the best, to ever play at West Virginia. WVU also had a young Noel Devine, who could score from any part of the field at any given moment. At receiver, WVU had Jock Sanders in the slot, Darius Reynaud, Alric Arnett, and a 6’6″ Wes Lyons. Sanders, an early version of Tavon Austin, was known as one of the most explosive players on the field at any given time. Reynaud was a deep threat despite his size and was vital in the return game. Arnett was known for his soft hands, and Lyons was an imposing threat in the blocking game.
Defensively, this team had Brandon Hogan, Kent Richardson, Larry Williams, and Kieth Tandy at corner. Three of those players have made appearances in the NFL. Reed Williams, who was one of the NCAA’s big forces in the run game, led the way at linebacker. JT Thomas, who now plays for the Bears, was also a force to be reckoned with. The middle of the defense’s 3-3-5 scheme was big man Chris Nield, who is now with the Redskins.
With all of that talent, not many of those players were drafted or received very significant playing time from the get-go. Some of them were drafted, and some of them have made NFL rosters, while others have moved on to the CFL in Canada. For the longest time, one of the big criticisms of WVU’s football program was that they were a good college program but their players didn’t translate well into the NFL.
Under the tutelage of now head coach Dana Holgorsen, three players were drafted this past April in the first three rounds and just a season ago Bruce Irvin went in the top 15 picks of the NFL Draft. Austin was drafted 8th overall this year.
Holgorsen is ushering in the new school of WVU football. Recruits in the past could look back and say, “Yeah, you had college talent but where are those guys now? I can go to Alabama and play with talent and go to the NFL.” Now, recruits can look at Austin, Geno Smith, and Stedman Bailey and say, “Okay, I want to go to WVU.”
