Top Ten Greatest Mountaineers
Who are the best West Virginia Mountaineers of the Athlon era?
By: Braden Gall | 5/18/12, 4:26 AM EDT
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10. Mike Compton, OL, 1989-1992
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A three-year starter, two-time All-Big East and consensus All-American was a Lombardi Finalist in 1992. Compton was equals parts brain and brawn as he earned Academic All-America honors and was chosen to speak on behalf of all NCAA student-athletes at the 1993 NCAA Convention in Dallas. Compton was selected in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Lions before winning two Super Bowl titles with the Patriots.
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9. Darryl Talley, LB, 1979-82
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Talley was legendary Coach Don Nehlen’s first consensus All-American when he was voted a first-team All-American by nine different media outlets. Talley was a vicious hitter who finished his career as the school’s all-time leading tackler with 484 total stops. The linebacker led WVU to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history. Talley’s five tackles for a loss against Penn State are still a school record. He was drafted in the second round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Bills. The Pro Bowl tackler played 14 excellent seasons in the NFL, including four straight trips to the Super Bowl in the early '90s.
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8. Canute Curtis, LB, 1993-96
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One of West Virginia’s most decorated defenders, Curtis anchored the nation’s No. 1 defense in 1996. The Big East Defensive Player of the Year claims the single-season (16.5, 1996) and career sack record (34.5) for the Mountaineers. Curtis was a Butkus and Nagurski Finalist his senior season. Curtis helped lead WVU to three straight bowl appearances.
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7. Aaron Beasley, DB, 1992-95
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The three-year starter at cornerback broke onto the national scene as a junior after leading the nation – and setting a single-season WVU record — for interceptions with 10. He also set a record for passes broken up (since broken) with 18 PBUs. A Thorpe finalist and All-American in 1995, Beasley finished his career with 19 INTs – good for second all-time in school history.
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6. Dan Mozes, C, 2002-06
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No Mountaineer has started more games than Dan Mozes, with career 49 starts. He started his career with Freshman All-America respect before claiming second-team All-America honors as a junior and consensus All-America esteem as a senior. His final season also saw Mozes garner the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the best center in the nation. Mozes allowed zero sacks in 2005 while paving the way for Steve Slaton, Pat White and the Mountaineers to ramble for 3,600 yards and their second straight 38-35 bowl win. The Sugar Bowl win over Georgia following the 2005 season was the first BCS bowl appearance and win.
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5. Grant Wiley, LB, 2000-03
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Wiley got started quickly in Morgantown, winning Big East Rookie of the Year honors after recoring 94 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss and three interceptions. Wiley posted 133 stops and two interceptions as a junior in 2002 before being named captain and a consensus All-American as a senior in 2003. He was a Nagurski Finalist and led the nation in forced fumbles with 7. His career 492 tackles and 47.5 tackles for a loss are all-time WVU school records. Wiley during his career also registered nine sacks, eight interceptions, nine forced fumbles and 18 passes broken up.
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4. Brian Jozwiak, OL, 1982-85
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Mammoth offensive tackle Jozwiak became Don Nehlen’s second consensus All-American in 1985. As the seventh overall selection in the first round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, Jozwiak was just the fifth Mountaineer to be taken in the first round of the draft.
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3. Steve Slaton, RB, 2005-07
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The three-year starter was a quick-footed, speedy back who ran for a school-record 1,744 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2006, helping the Mounties to a second straight 11-win season. He was, along with Dan Mozes, a consensus All-American – the first such pairing in school history – and finished fourth in the Heisman trophy voting. He topped the 1,000-yard mark all three years in school, and his 3,923 yards are fourth-best in school history. As a freshman, Slaton earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors as well as the Sugar Bowl MVP after a school bowl record 204 yards in the school’s first-ever BCS Bowl win over Georgia. Slaton’s 50 career rushing touchdowns are a West Virginia record.
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2. Major Harris, QB, 1987-89
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Harris started slowly as a freshman but improved over the course of the year and at the end of his 1,200-yard, 10-TD passing, 615-yard, 6-TD rushing season, he was the starter for good. As a sophomore, Harris blossomed and led the Mountaineers to the school’s first-ever unbeaten regular season (11-0) and a matchup with No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl with the National Championship on the line. As a Heisman Finalist (5th place), Harris passed for 1,915 yards and 14 touchdowns while rushing for 610 yards and six more scores – including arguably the school’s most exciting play against Penn State which has since been dubbed “The Play.” Playing through a badly injured shoulder, Harris threw the ball very little against the Irish, and ND won the national title 34-21. As a junior Harris finished third in the Heisman balloting after 2,058 yards and 17 touchdowns passing with 936 yards and six touchdowns rushing. He set school records for total offense and QB rushing yards that season (both have been broken since). He left school as the all-time total offense leader in school history with 7,334 yards. Harris was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
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1. Pat White, QB, 2005-08
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This dynamic dual-threat passed up a six-figure salary and potential MLB career with the Angels organization to play at WVU. He began his first college season as the co-starter, but in the seventh game, an injury to Adam Bednarik gave the reins to White for good. He finished unbeaten that season en route to the Big East crown and the school’s first-ever BCS bowl bid (and win) over Georgia. White was a Freshman All-American. After another stellar season in 2006, White led the Mounties to a second straight bowl win over Georgia Tech and claimed Big East Player of the Year honors. As a junior, White took WVU back to a BCS bowl and won Fiesta Bowl MVP after his stirring performancein a win over Oklahoma in head coach Bill Stewart’s first game. White finished sixth in the Heisman in 2007. After a Meineke Car Car Bowl victory in 2008, White became the first quarterback in NCAA history to start and win four bowl games. White finished as the NCAA all-time leading rusher among QBs with 4,480 yards. He is the single-game (424, 2006) and career total offense leader at WVU with 10,529 yards. He is second all-time in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns (47). He finished with 6,049 passing yards and 56 TDs on 64.8% passing. His 34-8 record as a starter is unmatched in WVU history.
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