2009 FRIENDS OF COAL BOWL

By MIKE CASAZZA DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER MORGANTOWN - The evolution of West Virginia's offense in Coach Bill Stewart's first two seasons is accurately captured in one play pulled from the separate football seasons. It shows how the Mountaineers have grown to trust one position they really wanted to trust. The Mountaineers were at Connecticut last season and decided to create a mismatch with a fullback running a wheel route out of the backfield and up the sideline against a linebacker. Will Johnson, who that season had moved from receiver to the hybrid fullback-tight end position, played that day. Dorrell Jalloh, a receiver, was called upon to run the play. "It would have been me," Johnson said, "but they just wanted Jalloh to run that." It worked for a 35-yard gain and Johnson would catch only nine passes for 64 yards that season. At Syracuse last Saturday, the Mountaineers called the same play. Johnson was again playing, but this time was asked to run the route. It again worked, this time for 33 yards, and Johnson now has four receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown this season. "It shows me they gave confidence in me to do my job now," said Johnson, who was about 20 pounds lighter last year as a sophomore. "I feel like I did my part and now they can put me in those situations." College football has moved away from tight ends in recent year and WVU actually went three years without a touchdown reception by a tight end. Those days are long gone. "I know before I got here it wasn't even thought of that a tight end was a receiver," sophomore Tyler Urban said. "They could wear a number in the 60s. But it's coming along now and we're including the tight end more often and letting us dig deeper and deeper into the playbook." This season Johnson has one touchdown and Urban has one as part of his four receptions for 72 yards. An offense that wants to give opponents headaches in preparations is offering another trigger. "In the past, they haven't really used a tight end in their system under Rich Rodriguez, but last year that changed," said Marshall senior defensive end John Jacobs. "In the past, it was about Owen Schmitt and the fullback, but now they have packages that feature their tight end." WVU (4-1), which hosts the Thundering Herd (4-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in an ESPN Regional telecast (WCHS, Charleston) from Mountaineer Field, isn't alone with tight end depth. Marshall senior Cody Slate is among the nation's best with 28 receptions for 322 yards and two scores. The 6-foot-4, 229-pound Slate has 11 receptions for 179 yards and a score in three games against WVU. "Cody runs as fine a tight end flag route or post route as you'll see," WVU Coach Bill Stewart said. Junior Lee Smith, a 6-6, 267-pound transfer from Tennessee, has four receptions for 35 yards, but caught two passes for 21 yards last week against Tulane. Both are team captains. "They're big, tall, rangy fellas," Stewart said. "Athletes present mismatches and when a big guy like that gets on a (cornerback), he doesn't necessarily have to out-jump anybody. He just has to position his body right. They're really tough to defend and they have a really nice attack." Slate is the team's leading receiver, but the Mountaineers still don't feature the tight end in the passing game, though Johnson and Urban were among the eight players to catch a pass in the first half against Syracuse. They are staples in the offense and remain on the field - sometimes together - whether it's a pass or a run and no matter the formation. "We're blessed to have to good athletes at tight end," Stewart said. "I like the tight end and H-back guys and what it does to the defense. They cannot substitute based on personnel and we think we can get certain mismatches on a linebacker, which we'll continue to do. It's been very, very good so far. Some people call it smoke and mirrors, but it does give defenses problems." It was easier to diagnose in the past. Urban and Johnson had trouble blocking on pass and run plays last season, but that was to be expected given their experience. Urban was a true freshman, Johnson a converted receiver and neither was physically strong or mature enough - like a Slate or Smith - to handle the job. "It used to be, 'Well, Will's in the game. It's a pass play,' because they knew I couldn't block," Johnson said. Johnson is now 6-4 and 240 pounds and plays on the line of scrimmage and in the backfield. Urban is 6-5 and 245 pounds, which is about 20 pounds heavier than he was last season. Proven receivers, they're also now capable blockers in the nation's No. 26-ranked run offense. "These tight ends are more physical and they can actually play out in space and make key blocks in the open field," Marshall senior defensive end Albert McClellan said. "They are good athletes. "You've got to watch out for your crack screens and your outside zones since they are coming out and coming back into the box. And they have solid bodies so you can't just run through them like a wide receiver." Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mikec@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.