68 Mike Dent

Hometown: Jeannette, PA

Career: 2005-2008

Record: 42-9, Bowl Record: 4-0 including two BCS wins

Dent was a member of the great 2005 recruiting class. Mike Dent spent his first two seasons on campus learning from on the best college football centers to play for the Mountaineers: Dan Mozes. Dent would back-up Mozes while also seeing spot duty at guard. Once Mozes graduated, Dent took over at center for the rest of his WVU career. He would clear the way for Steve Slaton and Noel Devine to tear through opposing defensive lines. He earned 2^nd team All-Big East in 2007 and 2008 while also being a Remington Award finalist in 2008.

Memorable Game: The 2007 season was one of many highs and a few unbearable lows. The Mountaineers began the season with expectations of playing for a National Championship. WVU was fresh off a dismantling of the hapless Herd by the time they were set for their first real road test of the season, at Maryland. The Mountaineer offense had been clicking in the first two games and the game against Maryland would be no different. The Terps coughed up the football on the first play of the game, leading to a Pat White touchdown. Dent and his fellow linemen absolutely man-handled the Terrapins defensive line, giving Slaton, White, Devine, and Schmitt ample running room. WVU piled up 353 yards rushing. For those who don’t recall, this game was Devine’s first big performance for WVU. He would rack up 136 yards on just 5 carries. The Mountaineers spoiled Maryland’s “blackout” game, beating the Terps by a score of 31-14.

Today’s memorable game is a special one to me. It was my first Mountaineer road game. I have to say, that while Maryland fans like to point out how obnoxious our own fans are (which there are quite a few that get too rowdy), some of those Terps fans can be equally hard to stomach. Nothing was better than seeing the sour faces of the fans that gave my friends and I such a hard time. We also made sure to point how the Terps had passed on Slaton, Devine, and Schmitt. Smart recuiting Fridge!

Competition: This one was a tough choice. Realistically this pick could have gone to Rick Phillips or Randy Weppler. I went with Mike Dent due to the quality of teams he was a part of. It’s hard to turn down a guy that helped the Mountaineer win 4 straight bowl games.

Teaser: Tomorrow’s choice is a lineman the size of Spain (figuratively speaking). Do you want another clue from me? You might need to enlist the Spanish Inquisition to get another big clue out of me. To be honest, I would never expect the Spanish Inquisition.