MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia team Colorado hosts tonight won’t be the same team that has become the blueprint of the spread offense, the scourge of the Big East, the pesky program that contends more than pretends in the national title chase.
Seven defensive starters are gone from last year’s sixth-ranked team. Tailback Steve Slaton, synonymous with the spread, left early for the Houston Texans. An ugly loss to East Carolina likely leaves the Big East as the only title left for the 21st-ranked Mountaineers (1-1) to chase.
However, the one constant that comes into Folsom Field is West Virginia’s biggest strength of all. Senior quarterback Patrick White didn’t go anywhere, folks. He’s back. With so many Mountaineers gone, stopping White, now more than ever before, means stopping West Virginia.
“He’s the greatest winner in college football today,” said new West Virginia coach Bill Stewart, White’s quarterbacks coach his first two years. “Winning oozes out of him.”
White is 27-5 as a starting quarterback. No other quarterback in the country is close. The two-time Big East offensive player of the year is only 623 yards from Brad Smith’s NCAA mark of 4,289 rushing yards by a quarterback, set at Missouri from 2002-05.
If the growing obsession with the spread offense could produce a perfect spread quarterback off an assembly line, he’d be Patrick White.
“He can go for a home run at any time,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “He’s fast. And he can stop on a dime. He can be going full speed horizontally, stick a foot in the ground and go full speed vertical.”
The spread and White were made for each other. That’s why he wound up in the Allegheny Mountains from the Mobile, Ala., suburb of Daphne. He was third in Alabama’s Mr. Football contest after rushing for 31 touchdowns, passing for 15 more and producing 3,393 yards total offense his senior year at Daphne High School.
Tennessee wanted him. So did Auburn and Alabama. Two problems: They came in late and wanted him at wide receiver. That didn’t bother White a bit. He was not torn by the Auburn-Alabama rivalry.
“My mom went to Alabama State,” White said last week. “I grew up watching black college football.”
He had some drawbacks. He was thin. However, he was fast, smart and had a strong arm. The Anaheim Angels drafted the pitcher/outfielder in the fourth round after he helped Daphne win two state baseball titles.
Since arriving in Morgantown, he has thrown for 4,487 yards and 40 touchdowns, including five TD passes in the opener against Villanova.
“He’s the best quarterback in the country, hands down,” guard Greg Isdaner said.”You never hear him do anything bad. He threw an interception. That’s probably the worst thing he’s ever done in his life.”
The son of a fire chief and retired teacher, White heard the comment and looked curious.
“On the field, that’s definitely a bad thing to do,” he said. “I try to be a good person. I’m thankful for the parents that I have and the way they raised me.”
As a senior, White has become more vocal. He made headlines in July when he called out West Virginia baseball coach Greg Van Zant for not having enough minority players and then, last week, called out players over the 24-3 loss to East Carolina.
“A few were walking around with their noses up,” he said.
It didn’t help that ECU dared WVU to run as White was 11-of-18 passing for 72 yards.
“I don’t want him to press,” Stewart said. “I said, ‘Don’t you press.’ He just smiled and said, ‘Coach, I know.’ He’ll beat you but I don’t want him to feel that he has to beat you.”
But if you look at his history, the Buffaloes better not let him beat them.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
