Mountaineers All-Decade Offense
The Mountaineers’ 2019 football season is done, and we now enter a new decade of West Virginia football. We recapped the last season of the 2010s here. Now, we want to move on to reviewing the highs and the lows of the last decade. Considering the offensive firepower the Mountaineers unloaded in the 2010s, we start by naming our West Virginia Mountaineers All-Decade Offense.
Quarterback
Admittedly, we found it hard to decide between our top two. Based largely on longevity and volume, we selected Geno Smith for our All-Decade team.
Smith shredded record books during his time in Morgantown. After a breakout sophomore campaign in Bill Stewart’s final year, Smith improved drastically in Holgorsen’s air raid. In that first Holgorsen year, Smith threw for nearly 4,400 yards and 31 touchdowns. He led the Big East in all major statistical categories that season.
Then, in 2012, Smith completed over 70% of his passes, adding over 4,300 all-purpose yards, and throwing 42 touchdowns to only six interceptions. He led the Big 12 in completion percentage, passing touchdowns, and passer rating that season. More impressive, he led the entire country in passing touchdowns. His career passer rating is good for 5th all time in Big 12 history.
Smith led the Mountaineers to four wins against AP-ranked teams, including a 70-33 win in the Orange Bowl over Clemson. While the Mountaineers did not prevail, Smith also threw for 463 yards against second-ranked LSU’s vaunted NFL-caliber secondary in 2011.
Will Grier came in a very close second. Grier certainly captured more national attention. Indeed, in 2018, we predicted Grier would be a Heisman finalist. He finished fourth. Grier finished his career with a slightly better passing rating than Smith, thanks largely to his 9.4 yards per pass. He finished third all-time on the Big 12’s passer rating leaderboard and fifth all-time for yards per attempt.
On the other hand, Smith gets the nod over Grier for a few reasons. Smith threw for over 4,000 yards twice. Grier never did. Smith threw 42 touchdowns in a single season. Grier’s best was 37. As a result, Smith gets the slight nod for the Mountaineers All-Decade Offense.
Running Back
We faced similar difficulty decided between the Mountaineers’ two best running backs of the decade. When thinking through the best performers at this position, two names jump off the page: Wendell Smallwood and Charles Sims.
While Sims only played one season in Morgantown, he made the most of his time with the Mountaineers. Even though he was the only consistent threat during the Mountaineers’ 4-8 2013 season, Sims racked up over five yards per carry. He accumulated just shy of 1,500 all-purpose yards and 14 total touchdowns. Basically, Sims accounted for over one-third of the Mountaineers’ offensive production in 2013.
Nonetheless, Smallwood gets the nod here. Despite sharing the backfield with Sims, Rushel Shell, and a handful of others, Smallwood easily eclipsed his peers. In 2015, Smallwood averaged just shy of six-and-a-half yards per carry. He led the Big 12 in rushing yards that season. In total, Smallwood racked up 1,679 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns in 2015. As a result, Smallwood earned his spot on our Mountaineers All-Decade Offensive Team.
Wide Receiver
Mountaineers fans cheered on their fair share of dynamic receiving threats during the 2010s. Many memorable names did not make our list, but not for lack of production or skill. Simply, the names that made the cut stand above the rest.
Honorable Mention
The first receiver we include here is our honorable mention: Kevin White. The first of three Whites to transfer from Lackawanna College to Morgantown during Holgorsen’s tenure, Kevin played only two seasons for the Mountaineers. He made his debut in that abysmal 2013 season, and his production was as inconsistent as the quarterbacks were. But he broke out in 2014. He ended the season as a Biletnikoff Award finalist. White led the Big 12 with 109 receptions, adding just under 1,450 yards (good for second in the conference) and ten touchdowns. He also featured on many All-American first teams, and was a unanimous All-Conference selection.
Our Three Finalists
Just a few years later, the Mountaineers saw another receiver garner national attention: David Sills. His story (quarterback-prodigy-turned-receiver) has been repeated ad nauseum. His production as a wide-out, however, pops. Sills finished 2017 with 980 yards and 18 touchdowns, on only 60 receptions. He caught a touchdown on just under one-third of his receptions. In 2018, Sills added 986 receiving yards and 15 more touchdowns. He finished first in the NCAA in receiving touchdowns in 2017. And he finished second in the country in receiving touchdowns in 2018. As a result, Sills was a Biletnikoff Award finalist in 2017, an All-American in 2017, and an All-Conference receiver in both 2017 and 2018.
Our second finalist needs no introduction. Tavon Austin transitioned to all-around playmaker early in his Mountaineer career. Exclusive of his punt and kickoff returns (which helped him earn the Hornung Award and the Jet Award after the 2012 season), Austin racked up an eye-popping 1,932 offensive yards and 15 touchdowns in 2012. Austin garnered attention as a first-team All-American in 2011 and 2012 while creating some of the best highlight material of the decade.
Stedman Bailey rounds out our list. Bailey flourished under Holgorsen’s air-raid system. In 2011, he put the nation on notice by catching 72 passes for 1,279 yards and 12 touchdowns, the latter good for seventh in the country. As good as 2011 was, however, Bailey’s big break actually came in 2012. That season, he finished first in the conference and second in the country in receptions. Most impressively, Bailey amassed 25 touchdown receptions, surpassing the second-best receiver that season (DeAndre Hopkins) by seven scores. Bailey appeared as a Biletnikoff Finalist and a First-Team All-American for his efforts.
As a result, Bailey, Austin, and Sills fill out the receiver slots on our Mountaineers All-Decade Offense.
Tight End/Fullback
During the Holgorsen era, he and the staff referred to the tight end and fullback position collectively as the “h-back.” That said, the Mountaineers have had solid players prototypical of both of these positions during the 2010s.
First, our Honorable Mention here belongs to Ellijah Wellman. Wellman did not show up in the box score much. Over his four-year career, he tallied just over 200 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. But his contributions to some of the most productive Mountaineer offenses in school history cannot be understated. Wellman offered a tough, physical presence. He epitomized the blue-collar ethic that defines many of West Virginia’s heroes, both sung and unsung.
Second, our inclusion on the Mountaineers All-Decade Offensive Team from the position group belongs to Trevon Wesco. Another Lackawanna College transfer, Wesco helped redefine the tight end position at West Virginia. Indeed, the position most often is thought of as an extra offensive lineman throughout the Mountaineers’ history. But Wesco offered two skill sets. He certainly held his own as an extra blocker, but Wesco also featured prominently in the passing game in 2018. Out of the tight end position, he racked up 14 yards per catch on 26 receptions and added a touchdown.
Offensive Line
Given what the Mountaineers did on offensive this past decade, it should come as no surprise that there are several players worthy of inclusion from the offensive line. And there were also a handful that just missed the cut.
Honorable Mentions
Two players deserve honorable mentions here. First, and the most recent inclusion on our list, we mention Colton McKivitz. McKivitz has been a reliable tackle for the Mountaineers for most of his career. His steady play earned him co-Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Big 12 this past season. Considering the poor play by the unit as a whole in 2019, his selection for that award and inclusion on the All-Conference team speaks volumes.
Second, we would be remiss not to include Joe Madsen on our list. A three-year starter for the Mountaineers at the turn of the decade, Madsen earned selections as a second-team All-Conference player in both 2011 and 2012.
The Finalists
Don Barclay earned a spot on our Mountaineers All-Decade Offensive Team by playing well enough to earn two All-Conference selections to start the 2010s. He also earned a few All-American votes in 2011. Barclay was a mainstay for the Mountaineers’ running game at the tail end of Stewart’s tenure. Holgorsen’s first year would undoubtedly have been less successful without Barclay.
While Kevin White certainly made the first big impression among the Lackawanna-to-Morgantown pipeline players, Mark Glowinski was the one who really opened the door. Glowinski did great things on the offensive line almost immediately after transferring. His effort earned him a spot on the Big 12 All-Conference First Team.
Our next all-decade offensive lineman is Quinton Spain. Since the major recruiting services started tracking such things in 2002, the Mountaineers have only had two (now three with the addition of Chris Mayo to its most recent recruiting class) four-star high-school offensive line recruits. Spain was one of them. And his on-field performance did not disappoint. Spain earned All-Conference honors, and played consistently his entire tenure at West Virginia.
Tyler Orlosky was a mainstay at center through the middle of the decade. Fans did not hear Orlosky’s name often. And that is exactly what you want from a reliable center. Orlosky’s play earned him spots on the All-Conference teams in 2015 and 2016. He was a Rimington Award finalist in 2016 as well.
Finally, we have Yodny Cajuste. Teammates called him “The Created Player” during his first season in Morgantown. He repeatedly proved the moniker through his tenure. Media and coaches named him to two All-Conference teams. He was also Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Big 12 in 2018. Cajuste also earned a spot as a second-team All-American that same season. As a result, he earns the prime spot for the offensive line on our Mountaineers All-Decade Offense.
