MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (òòò½ÊÓƵ News) òòò½ÊÓƵ” There is not a bit of truth in the rumors that have circulated that West Virginia safety Sean Mahone's first year attending school at òòò½ÊÓƵU was Jerry West's final season of playing for the Mountaineers.
It only feels that way.
He's been here a while, now playing his sixth year. That means that when he arrived from Lakota West High School, which is north of Cincinnati, about a third of the way to Dayton, some of his current teammates were in middle school.
He was able to play six years because he redshirted his first season, then took advantage of having an extra year's eligibility tagged on at the end due to the Covid pandemic last season.
His teammates ride him about it.
"Evan Staley and I both came in in 2016, so they definitely joke around, calling us the old heads and everything,òòò½ÊÓƵ Mahone said.
When you reach that point, playing the game becomes bittersweet for you. You know the end of college days and college ball may be near, maybe even the end of your football career entirely.
"This being my sixth year, I only have three games left. It hasn't hit me yet, but I know it's going to hit me soon," he admitted.
Maybe it will hit him this week, in one of the most important games he's played, for the Mountaineers almost have to win at Kansas State at noon Saturday if they hope to become bowl eligible, allowing Mahone to extend his college career one more game.
Mahone has had any number of big moments for the Mountaineers over six years, but his legacy may have been made more in the classroom than on the football field. He recently learned he was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, given annually to the òòò½ÊÓƵœabsolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership,òòò½ÊÓƵ according to the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, which gives out the award.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI was shocked, but I was very proud and grateful for being selected as one of the 14 finalists, it meant a lot,òòò½ÊÓƵ Mahone said. òòò½ÊÓƵœBeing able to tell my parents, it meant a lot to them. Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m very proud, and itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a really big honor.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Mahone says he wasn't an extraordinary student in high school.
"In high school, I was like average, but my parents really harped on it," he said. "Before I got to college, I would see players who were good but they would have issues with school and everything.
"That hit me. I realized someday football was going to end and education is important and will take you further in life."
And so he put his nose into the books at òòò½ÊÓƵU and up with a pair of degrees already won, an undergraduate degree in technical information systems and a master's in business adminstration.
While he is taking some undergraduate courses this semester, he is thinking of going for a potential Ph.D., although he doesn't know where that will take him.
"I'm still trying to figure out. There's so many areas, it will eventually come to me. I'm on the right path," he said.
That led to a rather intriguing question that seemed to catch him off guard, and that was in what way book smarts transfer over into football smarts.
"I'm trying to think ... eh, I guess it's the same ... football is a little different. That's a good question," he said, hesitantly. "There's like a lot of stuff in football we see every day in life."
What they don't see in every day life is a quarterback like Kansas State's Skylar Thompson, who is completing 71% of his passes, or a diminutive running back like Deuce Vaughn, who is elusive at 5-foot-6 and 178 pounds as a runner, receiver and kick returner.
Mahone is charged with being "the quarterback" of the defense, according to defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley, making the defensive calls for the second level.
"With teams that are like tempo, I have to look to the sideline. Not just me, the corner, the safety, the spear ... we have to give a strength call, left or right, then look at the formation and give a call. If they shift positions it changes," he said.
"At first it was hard. My beginning years I was at corner and didn't have to say too much, but I'm at safety now and have speak up and give the calls. Iowa State was tough because they line up and shift a whole lot. I'm used to it now."
