MORGANTOWN - Oddly enough, Bill Stewart does a better job of describing what happened to put Brad Starks in a green jersey during West Virginia's early spring football practices than does Starks.
MORGANTOWN - Oddly enough, Bill Stewart does a better job of describing what happened to put Brad Starks in a green jersey during West Virginia's early spring football practices than does Starks.
It's odd because Stewart does it without once resorting to references to "lads" or the Old Gold and Blue.
Starks? He sort of skirts the issue of his sprained ankle. He even tried to pass it off as a workout injury, which it was only if one considers a pick-up basketball game part of a regular winter football workout regimen.
And even when confronted by the specifics, the junior quarterback-turned-wide receiver passed it off as simply being "too competitive.''
And when it comes down to it, I suppose that's fairly accurate, if not terribly revealing.
"He was playing basketball and some guy started talking trash about him not being able to block his shot,'' Stewart said. "Well, that's the wrong thing to do with Starks.''
Know first of all that the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Starks is not just some football-playing basketball wannabe. In high school, he averaged 23 points per game as a senior and was named Virginia's Group AA co-player of the year.
Ever since former WVU quarterback Jarrett Brown moonlighted during one semester as a guard on Bob Huggins' basketball team two years ago, Stewart has wondered what might happen if Starks ever got the itch to do the same thing.
"Huggins thought Jarrett was pretty good,'' Stewart said. "Bradley would blow him out of the water.''
Still, Starks isn't at West Virginia to play basketball, so when he does get the urge he has to be careful. He knows that. And as a general rule, Stewart trusts him to do just that.
And three weeks ago, Starks was being careful.
"He said, 'Coach, I was doing everything right,'" Stewart said. "He was staying outside, shooting 3-pointers, staying out of the paint.''
"I was,'' Starks said. "I was being very careful.''
And then the whole competitive thing kicked in.
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Story behind Starks' injury dribbles out
MORGANTOWN - Oddly enough, Bill Stewart does a better job of describing what happened to put Brad Starks in a green jersey during West Virginia's early spring football practices than does Starks.
It's odd because Stewart does it without once resorting to references to "lads" or the Old Gold and Blue.
Starks? He sort of skirts the issue of his sprained ankle. He even tried to pass it off as a workout injury, which it was only if one considers a pick-up basketball game part of a regular winter football workout regimen.
And even when confronted by the specifics, the junior quarterback-turned-wide receiver passed it off as simply being "too competitive.''
And when it comes down to it, I suppose that's fairly accurate, if not terribly revealing.
"He was playing basketball and some guy started talking trash about him not being able to block his shot,'' Stewart said. "Well, that's the wrong thing to do with Starks.''
Know first of all that the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Starks is not just some football-playing basketball wannabe. In high school, he averaged 23 points per game as a senior and was named Virginia's Group AA co-player of the year.
Ever since former WVU quarterback Jarrett Brown moonlighted during one semester as a guard on Bob Huggins' basketball team two years ago, Stewart has wondered what might happen if Starks ever got the itch to do the same thing.
"Huggins thought Jarrett was pretty good,'' Stewart said. "Bradley would blow him out of the water.''
Still, Starks isn't at West Virginia to play basketball, so when he does get the urge he has to be careful. He knows that. And as a general rule, Stewart trusts him to do just that.
And three weeks ago, Starks was being careful.
"He said, 'Coach, I was doing everything right,'" Stewart said. "He was staying outside, shooting 3-pointers, staying out of the paint.''
"I was,'' Starks said. "I was being very careful.''
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MORGANTOWN - Oddly enough, Bill Stewart does a better job of describing what happened to put Brad Starks in a green jersey during West Virginia's early spring football practices than does Starks.
It's odd because Stewart does it without once resorting to references to "lads" or the Old Gold and Blue.
Starks? He sort of skirts the issue of his sprained ankle. He even tried to pass it off as a workout injury, which it was only if one considers a pick-up basketball game part of a regular winter football workout regimen.
And even when confronted by the specifics, the junior quarterback-turned-wide receiver passed it off as simply being "too competitive.''
And when it comes down to it, I suppose that's fairly accurate, if not terribly revealing.
"He was playing basketball and some guy started talking trash about him not being able to block his shot,'' Stewart said. "Well, that's the wrong thing to do with Starks.''
Know first of all that the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Starks is not just some football-playing basketball wannabe. In high school, he averaged 23 points per game as a senior and was named Virginia's Group AA co-player of the year.
Ever since former WVU quarterback Jarrett Brown moonlighted during one semester as a guard on Bob Huggins' basketball team two years ago, Stewart has wondered what might happen if Starks ever got the itch to do the same thing.
"Huggins thought Jarrett was pretty good,'' Stewart said. "Bradley would blow him out of the water.''
Still, Starks isn't at West Virginia to play basketball, so when he does get the urge he has to be careful. He knows that. And as a general rule, Stewart trusts him to do just that.
And three weeks ago, Starks was being careful.
"He said, 'Coach, I was doing everything right,'" Stewart said. "He was staying outside, shooting 3-pointers, staying out of the paint.''
"I was,'' Starks said. "I was being very careful.''
And then the whole competitive thing kicked in.
"The guy starts telling him he can't block his shot, so he blocks the guy's shot,'' Stewart said. "He jumps and comes down on the guy's foot and his ankle just buckles.''
Ouch.
"It was just the competitiveness in me. I couldn't let the guy get the best of me,'' Starks said. "I'm up in the air and I'm thinking the whole time about coming down and just taking my time. I take my eye off of it for just a second and it rolls.''
And it wasn't just a simple roll of the ankle.
"It was fat. It was a nice one,'' Starks said. "I went to the doctor and he was saying he would be surprised if it wasn't broken. He kind of scared me telling me that.''
As it turns out, there was no break, but it was bad enough that Starks has spent the first week of spring drills dressed in one of those green, no-contact jerseys that scream, "don't hit me.''
Of course, that's nothing new for Starks, who was limited last spring after having shoulder surgery. Perhaps Starks could be turned loose because in workouts so far he hasn't seemed bothered all that much by the ankle. But given West Virginia's dearth of wide receiver depth, it's not likely that the coaches are going to take many chances with the only experienced wide receiver they have on the roster.
And make no mistake, Starks is a wide receiver. That whole quarterback thing? Well, it could still be revived given that the only spot on the roster thinner than wide receiver is quarterback. But don't count on it. After spending last season keeping his hand in the QB mix as an emergency replacement, Starks has thrown nary a pass or taken a snap this spring.
"It's never out of my mind and if [offensive coordinator Jeff] Mullen needs me, I'll be there,'' Starks said. "But until that time, I'll do the things I need to do to get better at wide receiver.''
The truth is, wide receiver is simply a better fit for Starks, who set all sorts of high school passing records, but arrived at WVU in the midst of the Pat White-Jarrett Brown era and never really had a chance to grow as a quarterback. So in an effort to get him on the field, the coaches tried him at wide receiver and a light clicked on. Stewart has been saying for more than a year now that Starks has a better chance of an NFL future as a receiver than as a quarterback.
And Starks is finally coming to embrace that.
"At wide receiver I think I have more of a chance just because of my build,'' Starks said. "I'm kind of skinny, tall and you can put weight on my frame. And I'm fast. I think that gives you endless opportunities for what you want to do with me at the next level if I was fortunate enough to get there.''
And if he can avoid the temptation to block shots.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Story behind Starks' injury dribbles out
MORGANTOWN - Oddly enough, Bill Stewart does a better job of describing what happened to put Brad Starks in a green jersey during West Virginia's early spring football practices than does Starks.
It's odd because Stewart does it without once resorting to references to "lads" or the Old Gold and Blue.
Starks? He sort of skirts the issue of his sprained ankle. He even tried to pass it off as a workout injury, which it was only if one considers a pick-up basketball game part of a regular winter football workout regimen.
And even when confronted by the specifics, the junior quarterback-turned-wide receiver passed it off as simply being "too competitive.''
And when it comes down to it, I suppose that's fairly accurate, if not terribly revealing.
"He was playing basketball and some guy started talking trash about him not being able to block his shot,'' Stewart said. "Well, that's the wrong thing to do with Starks.''
Know first of all that the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Starks is not just some football-playing basketball wannabe. In high school, he averaged 23 points per game as a senior and was named Virginia's Group AA co-player of the year.
Ever since former WVU quarterback Jarrett Brown moonlighted during one semester as a guard on Bob Huggins' basketball team two years ago, Stewart has wondered what might happen if Starks ever got the itch to do the same thing.
"Huggins thought Jarrett was pretty good,'' Stewart said. "Bradley would blow him out of the water.''
Still, Starks isn't at West Virginia to play basketball, so when he does get the urge he has to be careful. He knows that. And as a general rule, Stewart trusts him to do just that.
And three weeks ago, Starks was being careful.
"He said, 'Coach, I was doing everything right,'" Stewart said. "He was staying outside, shooting 3-pointers, staying out of the paint.''
"I was,'' Starks said. "I was being very careful.''
