The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

Related Photos

  • West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith has put on 11 pounds and says he is comfortable at a heavier playing weight. The Mountaineers open the season Sept. 1 against Marshall. WVU Sports Information

    geno
August 14, 2012

Smith’s play a weighty issue

West Virginia quarterback comfortable after gaining 11 pounds

By Mickey Furfari For The Register-Herald

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University quarterback Geno Smith popped something of a secret the other day.

“I’ll play the same way this year, but in a bigger body,” he stated. “I’ve added on some weight the past two summers.”

The 6-foot-3 Miami native has gone from 214 to 225 pounds. Obviously, that’s an increase of 11.

“As far as weight goes, it’s something that will help me broad out a little against the hits I take,” he said.

“Yes, I feel more comfortable at 225 than I did at 214.”

He keeps saying that he continues to get better each day in camp. His pass receivers say they’ve noticed the difference.

“I think our offensive line is a lot better this year than it was last season, too,” Geno said. “Those guys did a good job (in 2011 as the Mountaineers finished 10-3). You have the most confidence in these guys.

“I tell them all the time, they are the engine that runs the ship. You have confidence in them because they do a great job.”

Smith gives the linemen considerable credit for the progress being made by the offense as the Sept. 1 season opener against Marshall rapidly approaches.

“We just want to keep working hard on offense,” he said. “And I think a lot of those guys on defense are doing a good job. They’re making plays.”

Smith noted that he has had a chance to hang out with some of the newcomers and some of the older guys have helped them in camp.

“The freshmen are eager to pick up what they are supposed to do,” he said. “So we expect them to step up and make plays.

“I think the coaches not only are recruiting guys who are both mentally and physically ready to play. They understand and do care to compete.

“They want to compete, and that’s the best part about it.”

Geno admits that last season there were times when he did not make the right reads to make plays. But he continues working on that and the other parts of his game.

“Over the season, though, I believe I have been a better leader,” he said. “And I’ve continued to progress.

“I get better everyday. I am trying to be perfect. I think I’ve learned from the mistakes I’ve made.

“Right now I think it’s paying off.”

For his three years as a quarterback, Smith has completed 619 of 947 passes for 7,457 yards and 56 touchdowns. He also rushed 179 times for a net 191 yards and scored twice.

Text Only
College Sports
  • Miners' roster has proven producers

    While the entire West Virginia Miners roster will be new — except for pitcher Kolin Stanley, whose arrival will be later than expected because of a bout with tendinitis — the players are definitely no strangers to high-caliber baseball.

    May 24, 2013

  • Howley considered best all-around WVU athlete

    Chuck Howley’s greatest fame came in football at West Virginia University and then with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

    May 24, 2013

  • Mountaineers drop Big 12 Tournament opener

    In its first game of pool play against Kansas at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, the West Virginia University baseball team was defeated, 7-2.

    May 24, 2013

  • Months of waiting ends: Weeks signs with Marshall

    Adam Weeks probably could have helped usher in a historic first season for the Mountain East Conference at any member school he wanted. Instead, he waited — and waited — for the offer he really wanted.

    May 24, 2013

  • 052413 huggs WVU coaches looking for talent inside state’s borders

    At the West Virginia University Coaches Caravan Thursday at The Resort at Glade Springs, both head football coach Dana Holgorsen and men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins spoke about the Mountain State’s love for the state’s flagship university and its athletic teams.

    May 23, 2013 2 Photos

  • Six Concord baseball players selected for honors

    Six Concord University baseballplayers were recently honored with All-Atlantic Region accolades by either the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) or the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

    May 23, 2013

  • WVU baseball changes up pitching lineup for Big 12 Championship

    Randy Mazey’s attention has been on everything but baseball in recent days, as the West Virginia University coach has been out in front of his team’s effort to help the tornado victims in Oklahoma, where his team has been this week preparing for the Big 12 Baseball Championships, which begin today at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla.

    May 22, 2013

  • 1MUSGRAVE1.jpg Musgrave, WVU teammates see tornado devastation up close

    West Virginia University pitcher Harrison Musgrave has spent his entire life in the hills of West Virginia. He didn’t know what a tornado siren was — let alone the damage that can be done by swirling winds.
    “I didn’t even know that they were going off,” Musgrave said. “I didn’t even know that they had sirens. I know I feel like a total idiot, but I heard them go off and I just thought it was an alarm going off.”

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo 6 Stories

  • WVU’s Musgrave wins Pitcher of the Year honors

    Six months ago, West Virginia University sophomore left-hander Harrison Musgrave was questioning his future with the WVU baseball program and first-year head coach Randy Mazey.

    May 21, 2013

  • Big 12 shifts tourney format

    The Big 12 Conference will still play the 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship this week at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla., but in the wake of the devastating storm that blew through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, there will be some major changes to the format.

    May 21, 2013