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WVU legend Schmitt makes appearance in Parkersburg

PARKERSBURG -- Nothing quite brings Mountaineer fans together like Owen Schmitt.

The West Virginia football legend was the featured guest during a Parkersburg Homecoming fundraiser Saturday night. All proceeds benefitted the Parkersburg Homecoming Festival.

Schmitt signed autographs, took photos and answered questions. There was an online auction, and fans in attendance were treated to a dinner courtesy of I Don't Care Catering.

Schmitt also signed copies of his children's book, "The Little Fullback That Could."

The former NFL fullback relishes the opportunity to interact with WVU fans.

"It’s great. We all shared wonderful memories together," Schmitt said. "It’s really been a surreal, wild ride for me. It’s been 20-some years since the glory days, I guess you could say. It’s fun to see how life kind of turns out. We all shared the same memory, but to hear their sides of the story is what really makes it special."

Schmitt is an assistant coach for Greenbrier West which wrapped up regular-season play Friday night with a 55-30 win over Gilmer County. The Cavaliers are projected to play crosstown rival Meadow Bridge in the first round of the Class A playoffs.

"We’re excited," Schmitt said. "Great for the community. Unfortunately, there will have to be a winner and a loser, so somebody’s season will end then, but that’s playoff football."

Schmitt is well-versed in the state of college football today, offering thoughts on topics like NIL, the strength of the Big 12, and a potential 24-team playoff format. He's most passionate, of course, about his alma mater.

Schmitt played at West Virginia from 2005 to 2007 under head coach Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez took the Michigan job in 2008, but returned to WVU last season and has the Mountaineer offense humming this season.

"I think offensively, he’s as advertised," Schmitt said. "We got some big-time playmakers in the offseason and acquisitions there. Obviously, you can’t deny the phenom that (quarterback) Michael Hawkins has been. He’s got a great attribute there with (running back) Cam Cook as well in the backfield. We’ve had some struggles on defense. Hopefully, coming off the bye week will shore some of those problems up."

The Mountaineers were 5-3 going into Saturday night's matchup with No. 15 Texas Tech.

"As far as Rich coming back, I couldn’t be happier," Schmitt continued. "For me, it’s special. I didn’t really get to enjoy West Virginia after my playing career because he had gone to Michigan, and there’s been so much drama around how all that all went down. It’s been nice to see him come back, and honestly, I’m rooting for him. I really hope he gets to put the cherry on top this second time around for his career here at West Virginia."

Between Hawkins, Cook, and fullback Kayden "Cowboy" Luke, some WVU fans have made comparisons to the Schmitt-Pat White-Steve Slaton backfield back in the day.

"There’s definitely glimpses," Schmitt said. "I wouldn’t say completely like us, but not in a bad way. I’d say they bring their own attributes to the table as well. The athleticism is off the charts. I would say maybe even a lot more evolved from what Pat and myself and Steve were doing in the backfield. For me, it’s the confidence. It’s seeing week to week those guys in the backfield build the confidence. Cam Cook, I mean, absolute stud of a running back. His yards after contact are -- he’s led that the last two or three years where he’s been in the top five at least in the league."

Schmitt believes having his old teammate White on the coaching staff is a great asset for the Mountaineers.

"I can only imagine if, at the time, Pat would have had like a Major Harris or something to kind of be back there, or somebody of that sort, to be able to give us the knowledge of the position in the same offense with the same coach," Schmitt said. "I think Pat’s doing a great job with the mentorship, and I know it seems like Michael is absolutely a student of the game."

Schmitt helped lead WVU to a Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma his senior year. He was then selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. He played in the NFL for five seasons.

When it comes to the evolution of the fullback position, Schmitt has many thoughts.

"A tweener guy -- I’d say that was really kind of my role when I came to West Virginia," he said. "It was really Rich’s experiment while I was there. I did come in as a wishbone from the Division III level at University of Wisconsin-River Falls, so I had some some tailback skills. The role of fullback as far as the lead blocker -- we ran a zone scheme at West Virginia, so it was a lot of outside zone stuff. It’s a very specialized position, which could be greatly used in his offense. He had me doing a lot of that kind of tight end, wing stuff. Also, we see that now with our split-zone with Cowboy, who’s there now. He’s a little bit shorter. He’s more of a traditional-style looking fullback.

"As far as the position goes, it’ll be interesting to see how it evolves these next couple years. I’m one to root for that style of position, because I think it’s important, that physical toughness aspect of it, but it also really depends on the game. There’s just more specialized rules as far as trying to keep the game safe. We’ll see how that comes out in the next couple years."

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.