Bill Stewart and Century Aluminum Update

Certainly it was not a football season that Mountaineer fans hoped for, but 9-4 was not a bad showing. As a matter of fact, many experts picked that very result.

The circumstances of Stewart's hiring led to him and his offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen receiving the bulk of the blame for WVU not returning to the BCS. The emotional post bowl hiring last year, the possible involvement of the Governor, and the losses led to a lot of anger being expressed towards the coach.

Let's look at the facts. Mullen and Stewart sought to bring in a new offense to replace the system that had sputtered against Pitt and South Florida. College football offenses and defenses constantly adjust and evolve. Rich Rodriguez never tweaked his offense when the defenses caught up to his scheme. Michigan's offense this year looked like a Model T in a NASCAR race compared to Florida, Arkansas, or even WVU.

Stewart understood that in the long term, WVU needed to change. That meant a more pass oriented offense designed to attract the best receiving talent. We had to take our lumps this year with players not suited to that style of play. The wide receivers were mostly converted from other positions and many were brought in mostly for their blocking ability. How many times this year did a first down or a touchdown fall from the receiver's hands? This resulted in a sputtering offense at times, but also the successful recruiting of some of the best wide receiver and quarterback talent in the nation.

Another problem was the lack of a big running back to grind out tough yards. Stewart removed Ed Collington from the team for a drug arrest. A fullback recruit that could have played the role was injured for the season. As an emergency measure, they even tried big, fast backup quarterback Jarrett Brown. After all, it worked in Florida with Tim Tebow. The injury bug bit there as well.

From the beginning to the end of the year, the team improved from the head coach down to the last player on the bench. Injuries could have decimated the defense, but this was never an excuse to lose. Reed Williams, a potential All American, missed the season. His replacement, Anthony Leonard, another great talent, became injured as well. By the bowl game, some hard hitting defensive backs had fallen to injury and illness as well.

The final product hit the field in Charlotte. Receivers caught deep touchdown passes, Noel Devine ran well, the defense had problems at first as North Carolina picked on inexperienced freshmen, but then clamped down. All in all the high scoring in the first half combined with the big plays of those very same inexperienced freshmen and sophomores on defense brought WVU an improbable one point victory.

Stewart is now 2-0 in bowls, is bringing in great talent, and should have a great season next year. One issue is one he will never overcome. Stewart is a West Virginian. He looks, acts, and talks like a laid back one in public, although he showed some steel in dealing with players and officials. His colloquialisms touch on the inferiority complex some West Virginians feel. Rodriguez talked like a generic urban southerner while Stewart is like a congenial uncle from the country. Should Stewart win, this will be seen as acceptable eccentricity. Losses will bring more vitriol.

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An update from Ravenswood, Jackson County. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito has stepped in along with Governor Joe Manchin to find ways to keep Century Aluminum open. Six hundred jobs are on the line there. With the attention of the Governor and West Virginia's most active member of Congress, those jobs are much closer to remaining in place.