MORGANTOWN-Ask any Mountaineer player and the one venue, other than Milan Puskar Stadium, he is looking forward to visiting resides in Austin, Texas-Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
One in particular will be Texas native Paul Millard.
"I can't wait," explained Millard, who played at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas. "I can't wait to go back home and play."
The No. 1 nationally rated quarterback in passing yards and No. 2 in total offense by MaxPreps, Millard completed 331-of-500 passes for 4,491 yards and 47 touchdowns in 11 games as a senior. A physical education major, Millard threw for 300 or more yards in 10 games, 400 or more yards in seven games and 500 or more yards once while earning second team Dallas-Fort Worth 5A all-area honors.
"I keep saying that the next time I'm in Texas, hopefully, I will be playing," continued the 218-pound signal-caller. "I have buddies from high school at pretty much every Big 12 school.
"It will just be cool to play at the schools that I grew up watching. Actually, just to be in one of those areas and competing against one of those schools will be cool."
Of course, Millard, who finished spring drills as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart behind Heisman Trophy hopeful Geno Smith, will have to have Smith go down with an injury in one of the Mountaineers' first four games or settle for some late-game mop-up duty when WVU takes on the Longhorns on Saturday, Oct. 6.
"I feel a lot more confident. Yesterday, I turned on and watched film clips from last year's spring game and then the ones from this year and it's night and day. Things have gotten better so it's good to see yourself progressing."
Millard, who enrolled at WVU in January of 2011, saw action in four games as the backup quarterback during the Mountaineers' 10-3 season. He completed 7-of-15 attempts for 124 yards and one touchdown, but also tossed a pair of interceptions.
"I feel like I have matured a lot. That makes a lot of difference. You know what is called and what is expected of you. When you know that, the game start's slowing down and things become easier."
And, it doesn't hurt playing behind a quarterback like Smith.
"He (Smith) has been good. He's the older guy. He's been here. He's played and he's played at a very high level. Just watching the way he leads the guys has definitely made an impact on me."
As had the addition of Houston-native Ford Childress.
"He (Childress) has a good arm. He comes out there every day with a good attitude. He's trying to get better each and every day, just like me."
Childress, who played at Houston Kinkaid High School, completed 184-of-292 passes for 3,171 yards and 41 touchdowns as a senior with only seven interceptions. The 224-pounder was named to ESPNU's Top 150 as well as being named a 2012 rivals.com No. 15 pro-style quarterback.
Numbers which meant little when the 6-foot, 5-inch signal-caller was forced to watch the spring game from the sidelines as a result of breaking team rules during the spring.
"It's all about getting reps," added Millard. "Geno, being the first guy, he always gets the most reps, then I, being in my second year, I'm getting a lot more reps. So, I'm feeling more confident in what we are doing, and with coach Holgorsen calling the plays I can make checks and do things on my own."
For now, however, Millard understands that his biggest contribution to the Mountaineers as they prepare for the atmosphere surrounding football played in the Lone Star State will involve painting mental pictures of what they can expect to see when they run out onto Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
"I love Texas and I love West Virginia and I can't wait to go back and play in front of people I know. People here have seen the movie "Friday Night Lights." Football is a big thing in Texas. I just can't wait to go back down there and be a part of that culture once again."
