MORGANTOWN — The playing status of senior quarterback Jarrett Brown will be a game-day decision, West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said Thursday.

The Mountaineers (5-1, 1-0 Big East) host Connecticut (4-2, 1-1) at noon Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium. The game will be shown live on ESPNU.

Brown sustained a concussion on the fourth play of WVU’s 24-7 win over Marshall last Saturday.

Stewart said he would evaluate Brown in practice Tuesday and Wednesday, and both of those went well.

“Jarrett Brown practiced both Tuesday and Wednesday and did well ... We will continue to evaluate him the remainder of the week and make the decision about his status on Saturday morning,” Stewart said.

Brown has completed 96-of-140 passes for 1,209 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions.

If he can’t go, true freshman Geno Smith will get his first start. Smith is 23-of-33 passing for 211 yards with a touchdown (a 33-yarder to Alric Arnett in last week’s win) and an interception (Auburn).

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West Virginia plans to honor the memory of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard in a number of ways Saturday.

Howard was fatally stabbed at a campus dance last Saturday night after the Huskies’ win over Louisville.

“To honor Jasper Howard, we have decided with our administration, Connecticut’s administration and the Big East that the Mountaineers will wear Jasper’s No. 6 decal on our helmet,” Stewart said. “Number two, we will line up on the hash mark prior to the football game for a moment of silence.

“After that, we will cross the field and shake hands with the Huskies. We will then have the coin toss and play some football.

“This is all about Jasper Howard and honoring a fallen brother. I am very proud of the West Virginia and Connecticut administrations for helping us make this happen to honor Jasper.”

The players are in favor of the move, too.

Many of the players from Florida knew or knew of Howard from back home.

I knew of (Jasper Howard). I actually had a good friend that attended high school with him, and they used to tell me good stories about him,” Geno Smith said. “It was a tragic accident that happened.

“I am pretty sure they (Connecticut) are going to come in and play off emotions. Playing off emotions alone, they are going to make a lot of plays and we have to withstand that and execute.”

J.T. Thomas said the Mountaineers must keep in mind there is still a game to play.

“We feel for the UConn family, but we need to go out and win a football game,” he said.

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Bradley Starks has put up some big numbers this season as a receiver for the Mountaineers.

His 17 receptions and 295 yards are both second on the team (behind Jock Sanders) and he leads the team with a 17.4-yard average per reception.

He also is a big fan of the cartoon Spongebob Squarepants, using a bag with the absorbent, yellow and porous cartoon character on it.

“That’s my game-day book bag,” Starks said. “That’s my cartoon. I’ve been watching it since I was in high school.”

He rates Spongebob, Patrick and Squidward as his favorite characters.

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Noel Devine is been as good as advertised this year for the Mountaineers.

Halfway through the regular season he has 734 yards rushing and nine touchdowns, more than twice his total of all last season.

The 5-foot-7, 175-pound Fort Myers, Fla., native rushed for 1,289 yards last year and four touchdowns.

Getting into the end zone with more frequency isn’t a surprise to Devine.

“It isn’t necessarily more carries or anything like that,” he said. “It’s more of a goal of the offense, what we’re calling when we get near the goal line. And it’s more of the coaches giving me more chances, knowing I can get the ball in (the end zone).”

— E-mail: demorrison@

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