WVU's Devine ready for senior year

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09/03/2010 -

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -Noel Devine stayed in school just for this.

Rather than take a chance on the NFL draft last April, Devine is returning for one final season in which he believes ``the sky is the limit.''

Liftoff starts Saturday when No. 25 West Virginia plays FCS school Coastal Carolina.

``It's my senior year,'' Devine said. ``I'm just trying to enjoy it all and embrace it. I'm happy with the team we have now and I'm proud of my decision. It's a destiny. It's laid out already and it's not like I'm in control.''

Despite rushing for 1,465 yards last season, including a 220-yard effort against Colorado, Devine wasn't the center of attention even within his own conference, and that might be the case again this year.

All eight Big East teams return their top rushers from 2009, led by Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis, who ran for 1,799 yards as a freshman. Not far away at Virginia Tech, teammates Ryan Williams and Darren Evans are being touted as perhaps the top running back tandem in the nation.

Devine needs 1,784 yards to overtake Avon Cobourne as West Virginia's career rushing leader, although that would require an amount of carries atypical of West Virginia's philosophy of spreading the ball to many weapons.

``As many times as they'll give it to me,'' said Devine, who averaged nearly 19 carries a game last year. ``I want to be a key aspect to this team and do all that I can.''

If the diminutive Devine can approach Cobourne's record, it might end up getting him mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Those suggestions get stopped as quickly as Devine changes directions when he has the ball.

``It's all talk. I have to prove myself on the field,'' Devine said. ``It's an honor to be mentioned, but it's just going to be up to me to come through with it.''

Coastal Carolina coach David Bennett wishes Devine had taken the money and run to the NFL.

``Our guys have an opportunity to try to slow him down a little bit,'' Bennett said. ``You're not going to completely stop him. He is lightning. What he does a great job is hiding behind those big ol' linemen that they've got.''

Devine's decision to return in January came the same day slot receiver Jock Sanders also announced he'd return for his season season.

It was fitting considering the Florida natives - Devine from Fort Myers, Sanders from St. Petersburg - entered the program together in 2007. Both are fathers and would be the first in their families to earn college degrees.

``We just had that instant vibe,'' Sanders said. ``We're just always on the same page because we're around each other so much.''

Sanders led the team a year ago with 72 catches for 688 yards and needs 55 catches to become the school's leading receiver.

But he'll have someone new throwing to him. Sophomore Geno Smith is making his first start after backing up Jarrett Brown last season.

Smith's arm might get plenty of work Saturday. Coach Bill Stewart warns Coastal Carolina might follow the lead of other teams in the past by clogging the line of scrimmage and denying Devine his running lanes.

``If we can't get free, if they load the box, it's going to be a long struggle no matter who you play,'' Stewart said.

Coastal Carolina quarterback Zach MacDowall is hoping for a better season after throwing for more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (nine) in 2009.

That chance may have to wait until after Saturday. West Virginia intercepted 17 passes a year ago and returns nine starters on defense.

Coastal Carolina is the second straight Big South team to open a season at West Virginia. Liberty gave the Mountaineers early fits last year before West Virginia pulled away in the second half for a 33-20 win.

Bennett said he might follow up on someone's suggestion to get some tips on playing West Virginia from Liberty coach Danny Rocco, but that his biggest worry wasn't his opponent.

``We're really more concerned about our guys, getting us ready,'' he said. ``I think in coaching a lot of times, we worry too much about what are the other guys going to do.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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