By Mickey Furfari
MORGANTOWN — Coach Bill Stewart continued to rave about linebackers Mortty Ivy and J.T. Thomas on Wednesday as West Virginia’s football squad did some spot scrimmaging on the sixth day of spring practice.
“They’re like sinking missiles,” he exclaimed. “They really are. I’m telling you folks Mortty Ivy and J.T. Thomas are have had very, very, very impressive springs. That’s been really good.”
Ivy, a 6-3, 235-pound senior from Monroeville, Pa., was WVU’s second-leading tackler last season with 89, including 48 solo stops. Thomas is a redshirt sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., who was credited with 19 tackles in a reserve role.
Sophomore Anthony Leonard, filling in at middle linebacker for Reed Williams, also caught the head coach’s eye. “He batted down the ball on one play and that excited me,” he said. “That was good to see.”
Williams, the top tackler with 107 in 2007, is skipping spring practice while recuperating from off-season shoulder surgery.
Stewart thought both the offense and defense performed well on a sunny but chilly afternoon at Mountaineer Field/Milan Puskar Stadium. He admittedly liked the intensity and thought the session as pretty special.
“I thought the way they got after each other on pretty combative terms was good to see,” he said. “I thought they would be a little sluggish, but they weren’t. They came out and gave a great day’s work.
“I told them afterward, ‘You’re doing a super job of getting treatments’ and that the way they got after each other was very special. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. We got a couple guys banged up. But it’s nothing severe.”
The Mountaineers for the second time went full speed in goal-line scrimmaging. There also was an inside drill as well as a pass skeleton session which Stewart labeled as sharp.
“The offense dropped a few balls, but the defense was playing on the ball,” he noted. “That was very good competition. The offense won some and the defense won some.”
Between 350 and 500 coaches are expected to attend the annual WVU clinic on Friday and Saturday. The first officiated full-scale scrimmage is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
