White feels good about upcoming first start

MORGANTOWN — Quarterback Pat White is expected to make his first start in West Virginia’s Big East football clash with Connecticut here Wednesday night.

“Yeah, that’s a good feeling,” the 6-foot-2, 185-pound true freshmen said during a break in preparations for the nationally televised game (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).

He took nearly all of the reps with the No. 1 offense in practice last week, while sophomore Adam Bednarik continued taking treatments for an injured foot.

Bednarik hopes to be available for the UConn contest. But coach Rich Rodriguez has indicated that White still will get the nod.

His start was delayed when the Oct. 22 game at South Florida had to be postponed because of Hurricane Wilma. It has been reset for Saturday, Dec. 3.

“The 16-day spread between games doesn’t bother us,” the youngster said. “We’ll all be ready to play.

“People rested their bodies a little bit during the layoff. Oh, I had a couple bumps and bruises here and there. But I wasn’t bad off.

“I’m sure those who had been injured appreciated the break. It came at a good time.”

White has had co-starter status with Bednarik since the season opened. Bednarik started the first seven games, but had to leave early in the fourth quarter of the 46-44 triple-overtime conquest of Louisville Oct. 15.

Helping WVU to its 6-1 record and 3-0 Big East lead, White has appeared in all seven games.

He has completed 31 of 52 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns. He has been intercepted twice.

White also has netted 304 yards on 53 keeper plays and run for one TD.

“The Huskies are a good team,” he said of UConn (4-3, 1-2). “I can’t spot any weaknesses in the game tapes I’ve seen.

“They go hard at you for four quarters. We just have to stay focused throughout. We’ll try to pick up where we left off against Louisville.”

The Mountaineers practiced Saturday and Sunday, after having been off last Friday. Now they will complete preparations with workouts today and Tuesday.

UConn is expected to get some of their injured players back. It hasn’t played since Oct. 22, losing 26-24 to Rutgers.