MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Talk about an embarrassment of riches -- which is not to be confused with The Embarrassment of Rich's perpetuated in part last week by the University of Michigan football coach.
West Virginia began preseason football practice Saturday and handed out a depth chart. Looking it over, surveying the first three days of practice, checking statistics and then reviewing the roster, it seems very possible, if not likely, that all of the presumed defensive starters from the first day will be the actual starters on opening day.
Rarely does an entire camp go by without some fluctuation.
Yet this is the attainable reality for Coach Bill Stewart and his Mountaineers, who do return nine starters and seem to have answers at strong side linebacker and strong safety, where senior Anthony Leonard and sophomore Terence Garvin, respectively, seem firm.
So maybe one of those two, or perhaps even both, are most responsible for the defense taking shape. Then again, what of a returning Scooter Berry, an explosive Bruce Irvin or an emerging Robert Sands?
All fine choices, but probably not the right one. For today, we'll go to J.T. Thomas - and introduce his difference maker of a mother, Andrea Blanks.
"She's been in town since the beginning of the summer," the senior weak side linebacker said. "She's been taking great care of me."
Jeff Casteel, the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, agrees. Thomas, second by only two tackles to Pat Lazear's team-best 78 last season, checked in at 237 pounds and said he's never felt faster or stronger.
When the season starts, he'll probably be 10 or so pounds lighter. He played last season about five pounds below that.
"It's his mom," Casteel said. "She took good care of him."
Blanks raised Thomas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and took a deep interest in her son's passion until it became hers.
"She loves football," Thomas said. "My mom was my coach."
And then Thomas took a scholarship at WVU, where his father, J.T., played linebacker in 1994 and '95. There was a great distance between home and WVU and Blanks didn't have the same role in her son's development.
Last summer, she introduced what Thomas called "Mom's Boot Camp" and it went so well they both agreed to do it again this summer.
Blanks took up residence in the guest room in Thomas' two-bedroom apartment and will be there through this week. By then, she hopes Thomas is on another level.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Talk about an embarrassment of riches -- which is not to be confused with The Embarrassment of Rich's perpetuated in part last week by the University of Michigan football coach.
West Virginia began preseason football practice Saturday and handed out a depth chart. Looking it over, surveying the first three days of practice, checking statistics and then reviewing the roster, it seems very possible, if not likely, that all of the presumed defensive starters from the first day will be the actual starters on opening day.
Rarely does an entire camp go by without some fluctuation.
Yet this is the attainable reality for Coach Bill Stewart and his Mountaineers, who do return nine starters and seem to have answers at strong side linebacker and strong safety, where senior Anthony Leonard and sophomore Terence Garvin, respectively, seem firm.
So maybe one of those two, or perhaps even both, are most responsible for the defense taking shape. Then again, what of a returning Scooter Berry, an explosive Bruce Irvin or an emerging Robert Sands?
All fine choices, but probably not the right one. For today, we'll go to J.T. Thomas - and introduce his difference maker of a mother, Andrea Blanks.
"She's been in town since the beginning of the summer," the senior weak side linebacker said. "She's been taking great care of me."
Jeff Casteel, the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, agrees. Thomas, second by only two tackles to Pat Lazear's team-best 78 last season, checked in at 237 pounds and said he's never felt faster or stronger.
When the season starts, he'll probably be 10 or so pounds lighter. He played last season about five pounds below that.
"It's his mom," Casteel said. "She took good care of him."
Blanks raised Thomas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and took a deep interest in her son's passion until it became hers.
"She loves football," Thomas said. "My mom was my coach."
And then Thomas took a scholarship at WVU, where his father, J.T., played linebacker in 1994 and '95. There was a great distance between home and WVU and Blanks didn't have the same role in her son's development.
Last summer, she introduced what Thomas called "Mom's Boot Camp" and it went so well they both agreed to do it again this summer.
Blanks took up residence in the guest room in Thomas' two-bedroom apartment and will be there through this week. By then, she hopes Thomas is on another level.
He and Lazear are returning starters, but Lazear is moving from the strong side to the middle.
Leonard has played a lot in his career, but he's played a lot of middle linebacker. Thomas is the most experienced and WVU wants him to become the most valuable.
"J.T.'s a guy who's been a big-play maker really since he's gotten on the field," Casteel said. "The things we tried to stress to him in spring ball were being a little better getting off blocks, getting separation and things like that that'll help his game.
"The best thing J.T. goes is penetrate. He's got a great nose for the football and he's really worked hard to improve his pass coverage ability."
Blanks played a part, though in a strictly maternal way, the way she learned growing up.
"You think my mom is bad?" Thomas said. "My grandmother is - I don't let her come up. She's really enthused about what I'm doing and the success I'm having with the team, but she's just like my mom. She thinks she's the coach. She wants to talk to Coach Stewart."
Blanks refrains from that and doles out massages and stretches upon request. She made sure her son's mind was on the Mountaineers and Thomas said she sometimes hid his car keys to make sure he wouldn't go out late at night.
She does what she can so Thomas can do what he must.
"She can't lift the weights for me," Thomas said, "but she's making sure I eat three times a day."
And when he says Blanks is making sure, he means it.
"She's shoving food in my face when I get home, which is great," he said. "It's good to be able to go home after a long day of camp and be able to see my mom. A lot of guys don't see their mom all year."
Together they're trying to share the entire experience as best as they can, which often leads to neat little moments like Saturday night after the first practice.
"I made her put her foot in the cold tub, in the bucket of ice," Thomas said, "just so she feels what I go through."
Contact sportswriter Mike Casazza at mi...@dailymail.com or 304-319-1142. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/wvu.
