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Cooper eyes transition

MORGANTOWN — His stock is rising. And so will Zac Cooper’s minutes on the field of play this season.

A junior-to-be this fall with the Mountaineers, Cooper saw action in all 13 games last year. But as WVU’s defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel pointed out Wednesday, Cooper’s playing time was limited.

“We normally brought Zac in as a rush linebacker on third down,” Casteel explained during a media gathering of Mountaineer coaches who discussed the opening of spring drills one week from Friday.

“Zac contributed in a lot of different ways,” Casteel explained. “He logged a couple sacks and got an opportunity to learn under some of our veteran guys.”

Casteel was particularly pleased with Cooper’s work in West Virginia’s unexpected 48-28 rout of Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

“Zac played well (out there). It had to boost his confidence,” Casteel remarked. “I think he’ll use spring ball as a primer to hopefully, a lot of good things to come (this fall).”

For openers, Casteel and his staff have opted to convert Cooper to defensive end, a move which has required the 6-3, 225-pounder to work overtime in the weight room.

“Zac’s bulked-up, more or less by necessity. But we feel he’ll handle everything very well,” Casteel related. Cooper is inheriting the spot vacated by the departed Johnny Dingle who opted to leave school early for an NFL shot.

“In Zac, at least we have a player familiar with our system,” Casteel added. “That won’t be the case in several other areas. We’ll spend much (of the spring) making evaluations and trying to place people in the right spots.”

SPRING FLINGS

CASTEEL and a majority of the Mountaineers’ staff attended Wednesday’s media session. Noticeably absent was WVU’s new head coach Bill Stewart, unable to appear due to a medical issue in the family.

A Paden City native, Casteel revealed there was no sense of an impending blowout last January in Tempe. “Of course, we were guardedly optimistic, but frankly, I don’t think any of us saw that result coming,” Casteel said. “It was a time for us as coaches and players to rally around an adverse situation,” he added, referring to Rich Rodriguez’ unexpected departure for Michigan…

ALSO introduced Wednesday was WVU’s new offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen who comes to Morgantown after seven seasons at Wake Forest.

“Needless to say, I’m excited to join this program,” said Mullen who coached at Ohio University prior to landing at Wake. “(At first glance), I see a lack of depth here this season but that’s why you undergo spring drills. We have quite a bit of unproven personnel.”

Mullen befriended both eastern Ohio native Dino Gaudio and the late Skip Prosser while on the grid staff at Wake Forest. “A couple of great people in addition to being high quality coaches,” Mullen declared. “Losing Skip Prosser so suddenly at such a young age was a tremendous blow. But the (basketball) program remains strong and intact under Dino…”

ALSO speaking Wednesday was new Mountaineer assistant Doc Holliday, a former WVU aid who returned after working under Urban Meyer at Florida.

“We’re going to concentrate our recruiting efforts (within a six-hour radius of Morgantown) in terms of finding both in-state and regional prospects,” Holliday observed. “Of course, we’ll always recruit nationally. Our goal remains bringing in young men capable of playing for both Big East and national titles…”

THE departure of Steve Slaton who’s making himself available for the NFL draft, leaves 5-11, 165-pound sophomore Michael Poitier of Opa Locka, Fla., as the Mountaineers’ No. 2 tailback behind sophomore-to-be Noel Devine.

“That young man (Devine) only averaged seven or eight touches per game last season,” Mullen noted. “You can expect those numbers to increase dramatically this season….”

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