Tawney eyes playing time at WVU

By CRAIG PHILLIPS

Derrick staff writer

When fans in Venango County think of West Virginia University football, their thoughts shift to 1999 Oil City graduates Ben Lynch and Adam Lehnortt.

Tawney

Kris Tawney, who graduated from Oil City in 2002, hopes to join them on Mountaineer Field's Astroplay turf this fall.

Tawney, who spent his freshman year as a redshirt at WVU, feels he has paid his dues and is ready for action.

The former Oiler joined the Mountaineers as one of five preferred walk-ons last year and spent the season on the scout team. In retrospect, Tawney felt he and the team made the right decision to redshirt. Now, he wants to play, badly.

“It was a different experience,” Tawney said of his freshman year. “When you're a freshman, you don't know what's going on, you don't know anything. You go from being the top dog in high school to where no one knows you - they know you - but they don't know you. You have to make a name for yourself.”

Tawney practiced diligently last fall and winter and accompanied the team to the Gator Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

Lynch hurt in opener

Oil City graduate Ben Lynch suffered a strained shoulder Sept. 4 in West Virginia's 56-23 victory over East Carolina.

Lynch, a starting nose guard for the Mountaineers and preseason first-team, All-Big-East selection, was one of WVU's team captains for the opener. His injury came in the second quarter when he was rolled to the turf from behind on a play-action pass play. X-rays taken at halftime were negative.

“(Ben) strained his shoulder and we don't know if he's going to be available this week or not,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez told MSNsportsNET.com.

“Obviously we think he is one of the better nose guards in the Big East so we're hoping he gets back pretty quick.”

Lynch had one solo tackle, one assist and one tackle for a loss before leaving the game.

“I'm OK,” Lynch said Sept. 7. “I'm getting 5-to-6 treatments each day and have a lot of my range of motion back. I'm questionable for this week, but they don't think it's anything serious.”

Former Oiler Adam Lehnortt, the Mountaineers' starting middle linebacker, finished the game with three solo tackles, one assist and two tackles for losses that totaled nine yards.

West Virginia will return to action Sept. 11 at Central Florida. Game time is 6 p.m.

His work began again in during the team's month-long spring drills and continued throughout the summer.

A 6-0, 173-pounder as a senior in high school, he led the Oilers in tackles with 136 as a junior and 129 as a senior on his way to becoming a first-team All-Northwest Conference selection at strong safety.

The name of his position has changed to “bandit” in West Virginia's 3-3 stack defense, but that is not all that has changed.

Tawney checked into training camp at 6-2, 197 pounds.

“There was a lot of hard work between then and now,” he says of his physical transformation since high school.

He has been assigned jersey No. 41 and is third on the depth chart at his position, which is not unlike the strong safety slot he manned for the Oilers.

However, with a pair of seniors penciled in ahead of him, his first varsity contributions could come on special teams.

Tawney has worked in practice on both the kickoff and kickoff return teams, units Lynch and Lehnortt were a part of during their redshirt freshman seasons.

“It's unlikely I'll play much at bandit,” Tawney said. “But, I feel I'm ready. My best shot (at playing) would probably be on the kickoff team.

“We worked on special teams in the spring and that's what I'll be working on this fall,” Tawney said.

When he isn't flying down the field or setting up to block, he practices exclusively with the secondary.

“In college, unlike high school, you have one position and that's all you work on, over and over, repetition after repetition,” said Tawney. “In high school, football is a hobby, a seasonal thing. In college, it's a year-round thing. I think I had a total of one month off this entire year.”

Tawney said the presence of Lynch and Lehnortt helped him during his freshman year and continues to provide a lift.

“We talk all the time,” he said. “Any time I have a problem, I can go to them. They took me under their wing last year. It was helpful and I'm happy to see them get preseason recognition in the Big East.”

Tawney, a literal predator around the football while on defense during his scholastic career, is eager to mix it up in a college game situation.

“This year I have a whole different confidence about myself,” he said. “I've done everything once, and now I have a chance to do it again. I love it when I get the chance to go against my teammates. I really think I can help out the team.”

Tawney, like his elder former Oilers, is focusing on what could be a fine season for the Mountaineers, who are coming off a season-opening 56-23 win over East Carolina. WVU is ranked 10th in the nation by The Associated Press and in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.

“It's exciting being ranked in the polls,” he said. “People are always asking how's it looking and how's the team, even in Oil City. But, we have a lot of games to play.”

Tawney hopes to lend a hand when they do.

From The Derrick 9.09.04