Slaton faces big decision after bowl
Steve Slaton, West Virginia University’s consensus All-America tailback, has a major career decision to make after the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound junior from Levittown, Pa., must decide whether to return next year for his senior season of eligibility.
“If I come back depends on a lot of things,” he said before the Mountaineers headed home for Christmas break. “I’m going to take my time making a decision.
“I’ll wait ’til after the bowl game (against Oklahoma) to worry about all that.”
He already has submitted paperwork to the National Football League for an evaluation. Where he’s projected to go in the upcoming 2008 draft certainly will weigh heavily in his decision.
Slaton said Rich Rodriguez’s departure as head coach won’t affect whatever he decides.
“Coach (Bill) Stewart has been doing a good job (as interim head coach),” he noted. “He’s a good coach and I talk to him every day.
“He knows what players want. I enjoyed practice the whole week he was in charge. Coach Stewart is taking good care of things.”
What’s more, Steve Slaton said the shorter, crisper practices actually were the best WVU has had in a long time. “I think everyone has worked even harder,” he added.
“I’ve played this game a long time and my teammates have, too. So we know what we have to do to win this game.”
Steve Slaton believes things happen for a reason. He feels that preparations have gone very well on both sides of the ball, despite the numerous distractions.
He has rushed 210 times for 1,053 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. He also caught 25 passes for 348 yards and one score.
For his career, Slaton shows 3,825 yards on 663 rushes and added 803 yards and five TDs on pass receptions.
Like teammates, Steve Slaton rates Oklahoma as the best team the Mountaineers will have faced in posting a 10-2 record and winning a share of the Big East championship.
The Sooners are 11-2 and champions of the Big 12. They’re ranked No. 3 in the BCS final poll; WVU is No. 9.
Both teams are scheduled to arrive in the Phoenix area Wednesday. The game is set for 8 p.m. (EST) Jan. 2 at Glendale, Ariz. Fox will televise the action nationally.
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