By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN — Even though they will be without their starting quarterback, Geno Smith, who is healing from an off-season broken foot, West Virginia University’s Mountaineers will show off all their other assets tonight in the annual Gold-Blue scrimmage at Mountaineer Field.
The game, which benefits WVU’s Children’s Hospital, will be preceded by an old-timers game of touch football featuring former Mountaineer players. Kickoff for the old-timers game is 7 p.m.
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the gate. The parking lots open at 5 p.m.
The Mountaineer Fan Festival in the stadium lot (K2) adjacent to the Ronald McDonald House will be held from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m., featuring inflatable games for kids and an autograph session with select former Mountaineer football players.
The main event, of course, is the unveiling of the 2010 Mountaineer football team, one that expects to challenge for a Big East championship this year behind the running of Noel Devine, the passing of Smith, the receiving of Jock Sanders and a defense led by nose guard Chris Neild, safety Robert Sands and linebacker J.T. Thomas.
With Smith unable to play, Coley White will quarterback both teams.
Rather than to break his team into two even squads, or to play and offense vs. defense format, coach Bill Stewart has decided it would be best to keep his top players together on one team and play them against the reserves, a format the figures to lead to a one-sided game but that will be of more benefit to the players who will be playing this year.
“We want to get the ones to work together. We’ve not done that at all,’’ Stewart said. “We’ve done mix and match all spring and that’s what our goal was. Now, on Friday night, we want to close and try to put something together.’’
The idea is to build confidence and cohesiveness in the top unit, while giving the fans a glimpse at the potential this year’s team has. As always, there won’t be any secrets given away in the game for next year’s opponents.
Stewart knows the game, considering that is among the last to be played, will draw attention of his opponents, although they are not allowed to actively scout it. He has paid attention to other team’s games on his schedule.
“Someone said to me, ‘Did you see Alabama’s spring game?’” Stewart said the other day. “I said, ‘No. If I was going to watch one I’d watch Pitt’s (on the NFL Network).’ So they said, ‘Did you watch Pitt’s?’ I said, ‘No.’”
Still, Stewart reads the papers and knows everyone reads what’s going on with his team.
“I’ve got the LSU paper already,” Stewart said. “Somebody sent me that. People send me all that stuff and I read it all. The LSU writer had a big writeup after their game.”
And what does he hope his opponents get to read the day after his spring game?
“I hope the team will play with great emotion on Friday. They have done that most of the spring. We have had hard-hitting practices and live situations, and I anticipate that will continue this Friday night before the Mountaineer faithful,” Stewart said.
“I want to see the ball in our playmaker’s hands, I want see us offensively, I want to see if our offensive line gels, and I want to see how hard our defense runs to the ball and if we are playing like we are in top form and knocking the ball loose.”
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
