West Virginia football honored the 2008 Fiesta Bowl Champions, but some of the team’s biggest stars felt unwelcome when they returned to Morgantown.
On his self-titled podcast , Mountaineer legend Pat White went into detail about the shortcomings of West Virginia University and how the current coaching staff and regime treats some of the school’s former players.
“It’s almost like you’re a nuisance for coming up there,” recalled White, who led the ‘Eers to four bowl victories as the starting quarterback from 2005 to 2008. “I’m sorry I showed up – you invited me – but OK. I’ll sit in the parking lot and wait for Nissan to come get me.”
White played for the Mountaineers when they were still in the Big East, but you know the saying, “Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer.” However, the love wasn’t reciprocated.
His backfield running mate Steve Slaton also joined the podcast and echoed White’s sentiments.
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“I feel there is a disconnect just because we are not their guys. It’s a whole different thing,” added Slaton. “The guys that control the alumni are not a part of the Big East crew.”
Slaton tallied nearly 4,000 rushing yards and scored 55 career touchdowns in old gold and blue, but was unable to give his kids a tour of his old stomping grounds.
“I couldn’t even show my kids the locker room or the Hall of Fame, where I have things that would be there for a long time,” said Slaton.
In 2006, White, Slaton and fullback Owen Schmitt all donned the cover of Sports Illustrated with, “West Virginia: The Battle for No. 1,” written in big, bold letters. That season, White was named the Big East’s Offensive Player of the Year; he’d win again the following season. Slaton earned consensus All-American status in 2006 after totaling the second-most yards from scrimmage in the entire country with 2,104 yards.
These two catapulted West Virginia football into the national spotlight. Their unrivaled play-making abilities made college football fans all across the country take notice – even if they didn’t believe the Mountaineers could compete against the big, bad Boomer Sooners in a bowl game. But after scoring 48 points, the country had no choice but to give the Mountaineers props.
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There might be another side to this story – and neither White nor Slaton want people to bend over backwards for them – but to simply dismiss these anecdotes from the school’s most beloved talent is a disservice to current and future players.