Published: April 04, 2008 12:27 am      

Devine welcomes new competition

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia’s Noel Devine, heir apparent to the No. 1 running back spot, said Wednesday he welcomes the new competition.

Zach Hulse, 5-10, 200-pound newcomer from Glendale Community College in Arizona, was added to the original list of 23 recruits. Then earlier this week another running back, Mark Rodgers of Lawndale, Calif., was signed to the binding national letter-of-intent.

“Whoever we can bring in has to make our team better,” said Devine, 5-8, 170-pound sophomore from Fort Myers, Fla. “I love football and I feel I can do it all. I enjoy catching the ball as well as running with it.”

He said sophomore Jock Sanders and junior Michael Poitier, among others, also are working hard as tailbacks in spring practice.

“Everybody is learning from mistakes, and I think the offense is coming together pretty well,” he noted.

Devine finished third in rushing as a true freshman in 2007, running 73 times for 627 yards and six touchdowns. He backed up junior Steve Slaton, who has made himself available for the NFL draft this year.

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Veteran quarterback Patrick White didn’t think the offense performed as well on Wednesday as it had on Monday. But he hopes it will play better on Friday before some 400 coaches at the annual spring clinic.

“Everybody is still learning the new system,” he said. “Mistakes here and there, but we’ll get those things fixed. We’ve got to throw deep to keep the defense honest. But you’ve also got to run the ball like we have in the past.”

White said Jarrett Brown, back from his stint with the men's basketball team, is throwing the ball well. But he has a lot of catching up to do on his own because of the new wrinkles offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen added to the playbook.

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Tito Gonzales, 6-2, 210-pound wide receiver, returns for a fourth season of football, even though he received his bachelor’s degree in physical education in December.

“I’ve only had about four full practices because I’ve had to leave early for graduate course classes,” he said. “But I’ve felt good, though a little rusty. I’m getting more comfortable in the new stuff, but I need to improve on a lot.

“This being my last go-round, it’s bitter-sweet. But all things must come to an end eventually.”

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Big East officials will work Saturday’s first full-scale scrimmage, which will begin at about 12:15 p.m. That session will carry the Mountaineers past the halfway mark of spring practice.