The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

August 17, 2008

White’s little brother gets his chance

By Dave Morrison

MORGANTOWN — There wasn’t much of a statistical package to be gleaned from WVU quarterback Coley White’s performance in the Mountaineers’ last official scrimmage of the fall.

White, of course, is the brother of WVU QB and Heisman Trophy candidate Patrick White.

The brothers were the only two WVU quarterbacks to play in the scrimmage, as backup Jarrett Brown and No. 3 man Bradley Starks were held out of the scrimmage.

To look at little brother’s stats would be misleading,

More on that in a moment.

Coley’s day started like a nightmare. He bobbled his first snap and was sacked twice on his first three plays — the other play being a 4-yard gain by fellow freshman Terrence Kerns.

The youngster completed just 2 of 6 passes for 11 yards and had a few nice runs that accounted for about 25 yards.

Coley is a spitting image of his brother when behind center. Both are left-handed, both appear rail-thin from the stands and both are elusive; a threat to run at any time. Of course, it would be easy to say, based on his numbers Saturday, Coley is no Patrick.

It would also be a mistake.

See, in the fall of 2004, Patrick White was no Patrick White either.

He struggled mightily in some of his initial scrimmages. His passes often nose-dived into the Mountaineer Field turf and he looked like a deer in headlights.

To the point where some wondered if he would ever play at the Division I level. I know I thought the same thing.

I won’t make the same mistake when watching Coley as he develops. He showed enough to see that with time he could develop into the next Patrick White. All he needs is time, and that is what he has plenty of, as he will be redshirted.

Besides, Patrick readily says that Coley is the best athlete in the family and he is here to advise his brother. That’s huge.

Look how it’s all worked out for Patrick White. When he’s done his name will dot the Mountaineer record book. And he just might be toting some serious hardware come December.

Coley may well be doing the same in the future.

n n n

Woodrow Wilson’s Marquel Ali scored his first touchdown as a Mountaineer. Well, sort of.

It actually came during skeleton drills, when Ali, a 5-foot-8, 190-pounder, lined up in the slot, caught a 28-yard pass from Starks.

The state sprint champion got behind a defensive back (a semi-recurring theme in the two-hour workout) and glided into the end zone, to the chant of “Ali, Ali” from teammates.

Ali, a walk-on, will be redshirted. He may develop into a fine kick returner in Morgantown. It certainly helps to make an impression when you get the chance.

— E-mail: demorrison@

register-herald.com

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