Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

I am ready to liken the Mountaineers to my first impressions of Tom Brady when he exploded onto the NFL scene.

Brady was making moves, but I needed more. Brady had to take his cleats and stomp his success into my chest before I could be like "Okay, he's legitimate."

It's more than safe to say Pat White and Steve Slaton are legit, but as we've all learned, football has 22 starters, not two. What bodes well for the Mountaineers is the fact that the proven two are the most important two - so it's a start.

What I love about West Virginia is that they line up on offense and say "Hey, we're going to run it down your throat. Stop us." Well, nobody could last year as rumbled its way to 303 rushing yards a game (No. 2 in the country). WVU had the No. 5 overall offense and the No. 3 scoring offense. Not too shabby. The video highlights of Slaton and White have explicit lyrics. But it's a very classic rap song and they use the spelling "Amerika" in the title. I had to choose it for the blog.

Slaton posted over 2,000 total yards with a bum wrist for much of the season that needed surgery. I'm curious to see what this man can do when he can properly hold onto the football and not feel excruciating pain every time he hits the turf.

What helps make that rushing attack go is fullback Owen Schmitt. I'm pretty sure this steak pays kids in the offseason to stand in his way so he can just destroy them, just for kicks. If he's not the best fullback in the country, he's in the Top 3. Schmitt will counted upon even more this year as center Dan Mozes has moved on. Just send a memo to the Mike backers WVU will face this year, there's a Morgantown Madman on the loose.

So if Slaton and White aren't running, then it's White likely looking for receiver Darius Reynaud. The speedster has the unfortunate job of being a role player for the run-based offense. But, you can't deny his ability to provide blocking support. At 5'10, he had just 39 catches last year, but he's a playmaker. If West Virginia attempted more than 14 passes a game, he'd put up monster numbers. I'd be surprised if he's not playing on Sundays.

I would have had no problem ranking the Mountaineers in the Top 5, but that defense is so suspect (No. 62 overall last year). Rich Rodriguez's 3-3-5 system was one of the worst pass defenses in the country. In fact, only 10 teams were worse against teams airing it out (yes, that's with an extra defensive back). I'll admit, I'm not an expert on the 3-3-5, but I'm pretty sure those rankings aren't where they want to be. In order for this defense to be better this year, which it should because it didn't lose much, a guy like safety Quinton Andrews must actually play well and a guy like defensive tackle Keilen Dykes must continue to play well.

The 'Eers have a mediocre schedule this year, but there's a make-or-break stretch for West Virginia starting with a home date against Mississippi State in late October. After facing the Bulldogs, WVU heads to Piscataway with a Louisville rematch next on the schedule (there's a bye week in there as well). I call that the Big East version of a gauntlet. It's not exactly Auburn, Georgia and Florida consecutively, but it'll have to do.

Three little letters need to be on the minds of WVU fans everywhere…BCS.

Let me see some Tom Brady action. Just no tuck rule.

Player I would shred you with in NCAA Football 2008: Steve Slaton

80s theme song: "Panama" - Van Halen (1984) … For a rushing attack like WVU's, this song is just perfect. Forget the lyrics? Click and help yourself. When Van Halen was Van Halen.

Save the date: Oct. 27 at Rutgers (anyone want to go to this with me?)