Noel Devine News

Bill Stewart's first game as West Virginia coach Saturday will be spent as equal parts spectator, special teams coordinator and supervisor.

Jock Sanders, sophomore slot receiver and running back, insists that it really doesn't matter to him whether West Virginia University quarterback Patrick White throws a pass or hands the ball off to him for a ...

OK, not every Top 25 team opens the season with a made-to-order patsy. And surely if anything was learned from last season, it's that nothing is automatic.

Villanova, which competes at the FCS level, returns 17 starters from last year's club that finished 7-4 overall.

West Virginia managed to overcome the sudden departure of coach Rich Rodriguez to cap its 2007 season with a blowout win in the Fiesta Bowl.

Linebacker Reed Williams may be playing in next Saturday's opening game against Villanova after all.

West Virginia University sophomore running back Noel Devine was featured on ESPN2 as a Heisman Trophy candidate, but with a "Pitt" logo on the left side of the screen.

So, here was Noel Devine on ESPN2 on Thursday morning, being asked how the sophomore West Virginia running back might like to be in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Mark Rodgers had barely set foot on West Virginia's campus this summer when Bill Stewart began to worry.

Like more than 28,500 other students, West Virginia University's football players hit the classroom today instead of the blocking sleds and tackling dummies.

The defense dominated a short scrimmage that capped the last preseason practice session of West Virginia's football camp Saturday at Mountaineer Field/Milan Puskar Stadium.

"We're getting more healthy with each passing day," West Virginia University football coach Bill Stewart said Friday evening after the 16th session of preseason practice.

Had things gone according to plan, Zach Hulce would be playing running back at Boise State right now and not battling for a backup spot with West Virginia.

The sound was what made it, perhaps, so shocking. Such a crisp pop, loud enough to be heard in the furthest corners of Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, echoing through the mostly empty stands.

See if you can follow this and then answer a simple question. Brandon Hogan, who once figured to be one of West Virginia two top slot receivers, is learning to play a cornerback spot.

Sophomore Jock Sanders, already assured of a starting slot at wide receiver, was given opportunities to run the football as a tailback in West Virginia University's practice session Friday afternoon.

Noel Devine is usually the smallest player on the field. He may also be the most exciting.

West Virginia University football notebook: Noel Devine, the speedy sophomore running back, says putting on the pads makes a huge difference after four days of lighter work in West Virginia University's ...

Take just a few steps into the West Virginia football complex, and it's easy to see that this program belongs to Bill Stewart now.

No one has emerged yet as the frontrunner for the No. 2 tailback spot on West Virginia University's football team.