2008 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 8

The 2008 West Virginia Mountaineers football team will compete play on behalf of West Virginia University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team will be coached by Bill Stewart, who took over after he led the Mountaineers to a 2008 Fiesta Bowl blowout victory over the #3 Oklahoma Sooners as the interim head coach after the departure of former head coach Rich Rodriguez.

2008 Schedule

08/30/20083:30pmVillanova*No. 8

• Mountaineer Field
• Morgantown, WV

ESPN+W 48-21 60,566 09/6/20084:30pmat East Carolina*No. 8

• Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
• Greenville, NC

ESPN   09/18/20088:30pmat Colorado*

• Folsom Field
• Boulder, CO

ESPN   09/27/20083:30pmMarshall*

• Mountaineer Field
• Morgantown, WV (Friends of Coal Bowl)

ESPN+   10/4/200812:00pmRutgers

• Mountaineer Field
• Morgantown, WV

ESPN+   10/11/2008TBASyracuse

• Mountaineer Field
• Morgantown, WV

  10/23/20087:30pmNo. 9 Auburn*

• Mountaineer Field
• Morgantown, WV

ESPN   11/1/2008TBAat Connecticut

• Rentschler Field
• East Hartford, CT

  11/8/2008TBACincinnati

• Mountaineer Field
• Morgantown, WV

  11/22/2008TBAat Louisville

• Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
• Louisville, KY

  11/28/200812:00pmat Pittsburgh

• Heinz Field
• Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)

ABC   12/6/2008TBANo. 17 South Florida

• Mountaineer Field
• Morgantown, WV

ESPN/ESPN2  

Coaching Staff

Head coach Bill Stewart will be the Mountaineers 32nd head coach in school history. He returns defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel and defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich. His new hirings are associate head coach, recruiting coordinator, fullback, and tight ends coach Doc Holliday, assistant head coach and safeties coach Steve Dunlap, running backs coach Chris Beatty, offensive line coach Dave Johnson, and cornerbacks coach David Lockwood. Jeff Mullen, former quarterbacks coach at Wake Forest, was announced as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The receivers coach was named on Jan. 29, Lonnie Galloway, the receivers coach from Appalachian State.

Spring Game

The Gold & Blue Spring Game was held on Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Mountaineer Field. A record crowd of over 25,000 fans attended as the Gold defeated the Blue 59-15. This marked the largest crowd to ever watch the annual Gold-Blue game. Kicker Pat McAfee was four-for-four on field goals with a long of 47 yards, and starting quarterback Pat White and backup Jarrett Brown both had touchdown passes. Brown also had a four-yard touchdown run and two backup kickers hit a field goal each. The defense recorded six sacks in total, and walk-on linebacker Najee Good led all tacklers with 10 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Pat Lazear had the only interception on the game off of a White pass. Backup runningback led all ballcarriers with 54 yards on 17 carries while sophomore Brandon Hogan led all receivers with 49 yards on 6 catches.

Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
John Bassler OL	Union Bridge, MD	Francis Scott Key HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	5.40	Jul 3, 2007
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Tyler Bitancurt K	Springfield, VA	West Springfield HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	N/A	Dec 9, 2007
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Brantwon Bowser DB	Phoenix, AZ	Phoenix Community College	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.50	Jan 7, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Jeff Braun DT	Westminster, MD	West Hills HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	300 lb (140 kg)	5.50	Nov 25, 2006
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 74
Ryan Clarke FB	Hyattsville, MD	Dematha Catholic HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Feb 3, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
J.J. Dorsey ATH	Winchester, VA	John Handley HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.60	May 23, 2007
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Tevita Finau DL	Phoenix, AZ	Phoenix Community College	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	4.80	Feb 1, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Larry Ford DL	Coffeyville, KS	Coffeyville Community College	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	4.80	Oct 16, 2007
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Corey Freeman DL	University Heights, OH	Cleveland Heights HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	4.52	Jan 24, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Zach Hulce HB	Puyallup, WA	Glendale Junior College	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	4.41	Feb 27, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Josh Jenkins OL	Parkersburg, WV	Parkersburg HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	303 lb (137 kg)	Feb 6, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Benji Kemoeatu OL	Kahuku, HI	Kahuku HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	315 lb (143 kg)	Feb 6, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Terence Kerns RB	Chatham, VA	Hargrave Military Academy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.55	Apr 12, 2006
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Joey Madsen OL	Chardon, OH	Chardon HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	5.00	Jul 12, 2007
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Donovan Miles LB	Stafford, VA	Brooke Point HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.50	Jun 5, 2007
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Jatavious Miller LB	Pahokee, FL	Pahokee HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Feb 6, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 67
Chris Palmer DL	Philadelphia, PA	St. John Neumann HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	292 lb (132 kg)	5.01	Jun 29, 2007
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 73
Mark Rodgers RB	Lawndale, CA	Leuzinger HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.55	Apr 1, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Robert Sands LB	North Bergen, NJ	North Bergen HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	4.59	Feb 6, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
D.J. Shaw DL	Wesson, MS	Copiah-Lincoln	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Jan 28, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Bernard Smith LB	Atlanta, GA	Mays HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.71	Jan 27, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Courtney Stuart DB	Phoenix, AZ	Phoenix Community College	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.45	Jan 23, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Jerome Swinton DB	Daytona Beach, FL	Seabreeze Beach HS	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Feb 6, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Tyler Urban FB	North Huntingdon, PA	Norwin SHS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Feb 2, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 74
Coley White QB	Daphne, AL	Daphne HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.50	Feb 5, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
J.D. Woods WR	Naples, FL	Golden Gate HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.50	Feb 5, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Jorge Wright DL	Miami, FL	Dr. Michael M. Krop HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Jan 30, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 36   Rivals: 43
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "West Virginia Commit List for 2008". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20. "Scout.com Football Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20. "RecruitTracker 2008: West Virginia". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2008-02-20.

Rankings

See also: 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking Movement

Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
AP
Coaches
Harris	Not released
BCS	Not released

Statistics

Team

Team Opp Scoring       Points per Game     First Downs       Rushing       Passing       Penalty     Total Offense       Avg per Play       Avg per Game     Fumbles-Lost     Penalties-Yards       Avg per Game

Team Opp Punts-Yards       Avg per Punt     Time of Possession/Game     3rd Down Conversions     4th Down Conversions     Touchdowns Scored     Field Goals-Attempts-Long     PAT-Attempts     Attendance       Games/Avg per Game

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total WVU 0 Opponents 0

Offense

Rushing

Name	GP-GS	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
noel devine
TEAM
Total
Opponents

Passing

Name	GP-GS	Effic	Att-Cmp-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G
Pat White
TEAM
Total
Opponents

Receiving

Name	GP-GS	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Joe Smith
Total
Opponents

Defense

Name	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass Defense		Interceptions				Fumbles		Blkd Kick
		Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	No.-Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Rcv-Yds	FF
Total

Special teams

Name	Punting								Kickoffs
	No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB
Total

Name	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Total

External links

• West Virginia Mountaineers official site
• 2008 Schedule