WVUcould really use Mike Lorello these days

WHEN West Virginia says goodbye after a bowl game to a seniorgroup that was the first full recruiting class for Coach RichRodriguez, there's one former classmate the 2006 Mountaineers reallycould have used.

That's Mike Lorello. The strong safety was the only member of the2002 recruiting class to play as a true freshman, and it was mostlyon special teams. The Ohioan made one defensive start, and seventackles.

What a waste!

Anyone who has watched the Mountaineers (9-2) struggle on defense,even as they were climbing as high as No. 3 in the polls, realizeshow much a redshirt for Lorello would have helped a leaky defense anda secondary that often plays the pass like receivers are radioactive.

Consider the Saturday night regular-season finale at MountaineerField against No. 13 Rutgers (10-1), like the Mountaineers a run-first (and run-second) team. That was Lorello's kind of game ... ahitters' convention.

This is not all about a wasted redshirt, however. It's about whyWest Virginia struggles so in pass coverage, even as the Mountaineershave begun to get pressure of the passer after playing four sacklessgames early.

The players at the back of the 3-3-5 odd stack aren't necessarilythe ones that figured to be there. WVU knew is was going to be astruggle in the secondary this season, after losing 2005 seniorsLorello, Jahmile Addae, Anthony Mims and Dee McCann.

Whatever they didn't have, the 2005 Sugar Bowl champions'secondary had experience.

It didn't matter so much that Lorello couldn't win a foot race(except when he was bolting to hit someone on third down), Addae wasa mediocre tackler at best and Mims played boundary corner so thesideline could help him pin receivers.

Look at what's in the back five now.

Safety Eric Wicks in the only senior, but he'll likely be back,regaining a year he lost to academic non-qualifier status, if hegraduates. So, the future will be better, if for no other reasonthan, "been there, done that."

Otherwise, corners Vaughn Rivers and Antonio Lewis are too shortto cover well, although Lewis has fine speed. Larry Williams playscover like he's afraid to get beat on the deep route.

In the two-deep, strong safeties Ridwan Malik is an average coverman and John Holmes (230 pounds) is a linebacker in disguise.Redshirt freshman free safety Quinton Andrews already is a bigplaymaker, but he still gets beat a couple of times a game.

Charles Pugh is a very talented sophomore who plays behind Wicks,and could be moved somewhere else - except the biggest plays he seemsto make are bad ones, like 15-yard personal foul penalties.

The point is: Most of these players weren't figured as starters ormaybe even two-deep performers when they were recruited. Therecruiting of defensive backs just hasn't worked out for Rodriguez'sstaff.

Sometimes that happens.

Remember the touted Vince Beamer, from Harrisburg, Pa. He had NCAAclearinghouse problems, then cleared out. Prospective corner RyanBrinson missed two shots at getting his academics in order out ofprep school. He's supposedly sitting out a season at Akron.

Brandon Heath of West Palm Beach, Fla., was supposedly all butsigned at WVU, and he would have been an immediate starter. He was afive-star guy (No. 58 nationally by recruiting services). He wouldhave been the jewel of the recruiting class.

He opted for Louisville instead.

There are more where those misses came from ... like MarquisMelvin, who decided on a music career over WVU football. There wasTyler Benoit ... great athlete, didn't make the books.

Last summer, Rodriguez said he expected cornerback Greg"Hollywood" Davis to be the star of the recruiting class. He showedup out of shape last August. Rodriguez got out of sorts, for goodreason.

Two true freshmen have gotten onto the field in the secondary(Boogie Allen and the re-recruited Guesly Dervil), but not Davis, whois redshirting.) It says volumes when a talented player isredshirting at a position so in need. Davis has gone from "Hollywood"to the B-list.

Coaches will tell you a lot of recruiting is luck - good and bad.WVU's secondary is indication of the latter. Next time a Mountaineeropponent completes a third-and-17, you'll know it's for more reasonsthan Mike Lorello playing in 2002.