Smith could hold key to West Virginia fortunes

BASTIAN, Va. — It seems like all the success or failure for the West Virginia Mountaineers in 2010 is being placed on the sophomore shoulders of Geno Smith.

Never mind that Smith has attempted all of 49 passes in his college career, all of which were as a backup last season to Jarrett Brown.

Yet, Smith, it seems, is the wildcard. That goes even for West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck, who brought up the subject when he was in Bluefield a few weeks ago.

“We have got some great young players, I think the lone question mark quite honestly is the quarterback, Geno Smith,” said Luck, who knows about being the signal-caller at West Virginia, having played the position for the Mountaineers from 1978-81. “He is a good player, very talented.

“It is different if you are the man, you are the quarterback and all the eyes are on you to perform well.”

Smith understands those expectations and is ready to accept them, taking over the leadership role of the Mountaineers in his own way.

“Just being myself, just being me,” said Smith, who played in five games last season for West Virginia, throwing for 309 yards and a touchdown. “The guys like me, I’m a fun guy to be around, I am not big-headed in any way.

“I am just a guy that wants to help our team and help everybody else win.”

West Virginia has weapons, and plenty of them. Luck said that luxury will keep Smith from having to do so much.

“He can do it, he needs to know he doesn’t have to win games by himself,” Luck said. “Noel Devine, the human highlight reel, can do that, Jock Sanders, some of the other talented offensive players we have and the defensive players who I know are going to score some points as well.

“What Geno has to do is play within himself and play within the system to make sure he provides the best leadership and the best field generalship for the team.”

That is exactly what Smith plans to do. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound signal-caller has recovered from a broken foot suffered last January, keeping him out of spring drills.

“A quarterback should never feel like he has to do it himself because if that is the case then obviously that team is not going to win,” Smith said. “I have the the right amount of skill positions and I have a great line in front of me, and I have Noel Devine, one of the best backs in the country behind me.

“It is something I can’t really go wrong with because whoever I get the ball to is liable to take the ball the distance.”

Including Smith. He completed 15-of-21 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown after replacing an injured Brown against Marshall last season, and also came off the bench in the Gator Bowl with Florida State, going 8-of-15 for 92 yards, but all Smith remembered was the 33-21 loss, snapping the Mountaineers’ four-bowl win streak.

“I really hate to lose and I really feel like we should have won that game,” Smith said. “There were many opportunities, a lot of plays I could have made personally so it is a game I felt like we should have won.

“That is kind of what motivated me coming into this season. I definitely took that game to heart.”

Smith understands that it’s not just the speedy guys that can run which will help the West Virginia offense flourish. An experienced offensive line that includes four returning starters will have Smith’s back.

“I am blessed just to be here, and just to have those guys around me is great, but the most important thing is the guys we have up front, those guys have really came together,” Smith said. “I call them my bodyguards because it is those five guys who move this offense and they are really going to be a key this year and I think they are stepping up a lot.”

Keeping Smith healthy is paramount to West Virginia success this season. After all, his backups will be true freshmen, Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson.

“Those guys are really in a unique position, as I was in last year,” Smith said. “I was looked at to step up as freshmen and come in and be the backup.

“Each one of us is competing. They both have a great feel for the quarterback position and that really excites me about those guys. They really understand the game and I look forward to seeing those guys play this year.”

As for Smith’s injury, he’s been asked a few hundred times. He’s fine.

“It is 100 percent fine,” he said. “There is a lot of wear and tear out there just from being in practice, but as far as pain in that particular area, it is 100 percent good,”

A product of Miami, Smith arrived in Morgantown last fall, highly-touted, and ranked as one of the top prospects in football-rich Florida. He was thrust into the lineup at times last season due to numerous injuries to Brown, and he gained a new respect for what a quarterback must endure.

“Jarrett was the epitomie of toughness, he went out there every game and gave it his all,” Smith said. “He was nicked up and dinged up, and that is really just the character of our team.

“We are tough, and no matter what we go through out there on the practice field, it is a lot of conditions and we can make a lot of excuses, but we just have to fight through it.”

Smith will lead the high-powered Mountaineers into the season-opener on Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Gifted with size, speed and a strong arm, Smith said none of that matters if he doesn’t use his head on the field.

“The quarterback position is 100 percent mental,” Smith said. “As you can see, guys in the league (NFL), they are not the most athletic or have the strongest arms, but they are the smartest guys that make the best decisions.

“That is why you can play longer at quarterback if you can make good decisions ...You can’t turn the ball over, you can’t fumble the ball, you can’t throw interceptions and obviously that will lead to winning.”

West Virginia dominated the Big East 2003-07, winning at least a share of five straight league titles before falling short over the last two seasons. Smith knows he’ll be judged not by statistics, but by wins.

“That is the opinion of the fans and the critics,” Smith said. “My object is to come out and win every game. I am not going into any game expecting to lose, I just want to go out there and win every game for our team and our fans.”

If he isn’t successful and the Mountaineers come out on the losing end, don’t expect Smith to lose any confidence. He never expects to lose.

“I understand losing is part of the game, you want to win them all, but you can’t,” Smith said. “That is something that you have got to bounce back from and hopefully we will win them all this year.

“Nobody wants to lose, who wants to be looked at a loser, you always want to be the guy that wins. If you look at the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, in college they were winners, the only way you can really be mentioned with those guys is to win.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

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