MORGANTOWN - Jeff Casteel's job was already problematic in preparing West Virginia's defense for a Marshall offense that has had nine months to reinvent itself.
"I think you worry more about what you do than what the opponent does, so it really doesn't matter who they play back there,'' Casteel said. "They're going to have great skill players and I assume he's going to be an athletic kid that can make some plays with his feet. But we don't know a lot about him.''
While Smith counts Cato among his friends, he's not likely to spend much time watching him play on Sunday.
"He's not on defense so I'm not going to see him,'' Smith said. "I'll shake his hand before and after the game and I'll root for him. But I'm also rooting for West Virginia. I hope we kick their butt.''
Whether or not that happens, though, is likely to depend in part on how well West Virginia's defense fares against the true freshman. And if Casteel has any secrets, he's not sharing them.
"We haven't seen him, so it's kind of hard to know what we'll do against him,'' Casteel said. "And if we did know we wouldn't be talking about it on the news.''
Briefly
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said this week that he doesn't yet know what he might do if his team wins the coin toss Sunday - take the ball or defer the choice to the second half.
"That's one of those things I hadn't thought of really,'' Holgorsen said. "I don't know. We'll talk about it as a staff later in the week.''
Holgorsen said the coaching assignments for game days will have receivers coach Shannon Dawson and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital in the press box, along with offensive line graduate assistant Vince Cashdollar. Holgorsen, running backs coach Robert Gillespie and receivers coach Daron Roberts will be on the field, with Roberts handling special teams.
On defense, nothing changes from recent years with line coach Bill Kirelawich and safeties coach Steve Dunlap upstairs and coordinator Jeff Casteel and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood on the field.
Beginning this season, television monitors are permitted in the coaches' box - it is up to the home team to insure that both teams have identical equipment - which could make it a bit easier to decide when to challenge an official's call on the field.
Holgorsen is a bit curious how that will work out.
"It all depends on how the footage is - what the footage is and what the angle is,'' Holgorsen said. "You don't want to guess. It will be interesting to see how that actually works.''
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
MORGANTOWN - Jeff Casteel's job was already problematic in preparing West Virginia's defense for a Marshall offense that has had nine months to reinvent itself.
It became even more so Tuesday when MU coach Doc Holliday finally named his starting quarterback.
A year ago, the Mountaineers had a full book on now-graduated Brian Anderson. There's tape out there of his backup, A.J. Graham, too.
But true freshman Rakeem Cato is a complete mystery.
"We don't know anything about him,'' said Casteel, the Mountaineers' defensive coordinator. "Maybe Doc will drive him up here and let him work with us for a little while.''
Uh, no, not this week.
When No. 24 West Virginia opens its season Sunday against Marshall, Casteel and the Mountaineers can certainly expect some surprises from the MU offense. That was a given.
Now that Cato has been stirred into the mix, it presents even more of a mixed bag.
"I worry about him because I haven't seen him,'' Casteel said. "We don't know a whole lot about him.''
Well, the nuts and bolts are that Cato is a rather lithe 6-foot-1, 180-pound, 19-year-old from Miami who a year ago led Miami Central to the Florida 6A state title. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards as a senior and broke every Dade County career passing record while playing for Central and, the three previous years, Miami Springs.
He also has a big booster on West Virginia's roster - his counterpart at quarterback, Geno Smith.
"I'm proud of that guy,'' said Smith, who is from nearby Miramar and, while he never played against Cato, did compete with him in 7-on-7 camps and other workouts. "He's another Florida guy who grew up near my neighborhood. He texted me when he got the job. We talk pretty often.''
If there is one thing Cato does not seem to lack it is confidence. Still, while Casteel refuses to talk about what his defense might try to throw at the true freshman, the Mountaineers do have a pattern in that area.
"I've gone against freshman quarterbacks before and that's always one thing that the coaches try to emphasize - try to get them rattled, especially if they're coming to Morgantown,'' fifth-year senior defensive tackle Julian Miller said. "This is a hard place to play, especially for a freshman. I can only imagine how hard it would be playing your first college game. You definitely try to get pressure on guys like that.''
For his part, Casteel is justifiably more concerned with his own defense than with whom Marshall lines up behind center on Sunday. The Mountaineers are trying to replace seven starters from one of the country's top defenses and they probably can't afford to be throwing new wrinkles into a game plan at this stage.
"I think you worry more about what you do than what the opponent does, so it really doesn't matter who they play back there,'' Casteel said. "They're going to have great skill players and I assume he's going to be an athletic kid that can make some plays with his feet. But we don't know a lot about him.''
While Smith counts Cato among his friends, he's not likely to spend much time watching him play on Sunday.
"He's not on defense so I'm not going to see him,'' Smith said. "I'll shake his hand before and after the game and I'll root for him. But I'm also rooting for West Virginia. I hope we kick their butt.''
Whether or not that happens, though, is likely to depend in part on how well West Virginia's defense fares against the true freshman. And if Casteel has any secrets, he's not sharing them.
"We haven't seen him, so it's kind of hard to know what we'll do against him,'' Casteel said. "And if we did know we wouldn't be talking about it on the news.''
Briefly
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said this week that he doesn't yet know what he might do if his team wins the coin toss Sunday - take the ball or defer the choice to the second half."That's one of those things I hadn't thought of really,'' Holgorsen said. "I don't know. We'll talk about it as a staff later in the week.''
Holgorsen said the coaching assignments for game days will have receivers coach Shannon Dawson and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital in the press box, along with offensive line graduate assistant Vince Cashdollar. Holgorsen, running backs coach Robert Gillespie and receivers coach Daron Roberts will be on the field, with Roberts handling special teams.On defense, nothing changes from recent years with line coach Bill Kirelawich and safeties coach Steve Dunlap upstairs and coordinator Jeff Casteel and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood on the field.
Beginning this season, television monitors are permitted in the coaches' box - it is up to the home team to insure that both teams have identical equipment - which could make it a bit easier to decide when to challenge an official's call on the field.Holgorsen is a bit curious how that will work out.
"It all depends on how the footage is - what the footage is and what the angle is,'' Holgorsen said. "You don't want to guess. It will be interesting to see how that actually works.''
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.
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