Mountaineers Will Bring Passion
Published: Sep 28, 2007
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Jahmile Addae, a Riverview High graduate, was an All-Big East safety for West Virginia (2001-05). Now he is serving as a defensive graduate assistant at his alma mater. He reflects on what it means to be a Mountaineer and offers impressions of tonight's West Virginia-USF game.
I'm really curious about the atmosphere we're going to see at Raymond James Stadium. This is why you play college football. You want games like this. It should be a fun and festive environment, probably the best one we'll see this season.
When I was growing up around Tampa, USF football was just getting started. It's amazing how far they have come in a short time.
At West Virginia, everybody remembers USF because of last season [USF won 24-19 at Morgantown]. It's a huge game, but we have a program that is very focused and goal-oriented. We're not getting caught up in the hype. We know what's at stake, and we have prepared accordingly.
That's one of the things that attracted me to West Virginia in the first place. It's a hard-working program. Being a Mountaineer means a lot to me. It made me who I am, both as a person, as an athlete and now as a coach.
We have a fan following like no other, and you're going to see some Mountaineers in the stands tonight. We feel that support, believe me.
Our team is off to a good start. And of course, everybody wants to talk about Patrick White, Steve Slaton and our freshman running back, Noel Devine. Those guys are definitely special, but we've got a lot of other pieces to the puzzle who aren't as well-known nationally.
We came to USF [in 2005] and won [28-13]. To tell you the truth, I don't remember much about it. It was such an emotion-filled game for me that I was kind of drained. I wish I would've sat back and taken it in a little more.
Now I'm starting my coaching career. I'll be up in the booth, kind of insulated from that atmosphere, on the headphones with Tony Gibson [defensive backs coach], my old position coach. But I think this is a game I'm always going to remember. I can't wait.
