MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – We've seen the "Tush Push" or the "Brotherly Shove" become a well-known football play made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles.
It is a variation of the quarterback sneak where the ball carrier takes a direct snap from center and is helped forward by teammates pushing him from behind. Although it's a legal play, critics say it creates an unfair advantage for the offense, is difficult for referees to officiate and can pose safety risks.
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Donovan Haslam
Well, last Saturday during the fourth quarter of West Virginia's 45-35 victory at 22nd-ranked Houston, we nearly got the "Donovan Drag" or the "Haslam Haul."
The Mountaineers, confronted with a third and 6 at their own 33 and the clock winding down inside of 10 minutes to go, were looking to keep the chains moving to preserve their 10-point lead over the Cougars.
Quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. completed a short pass out to the left flat to running back Diore Hubbard, who was stopped dead in his tracks by Cougar defender Latrell McCutchin Sr. well short of the first down marker.
That's when offensive guard Donovan Haslam, trailing the play, grabbed Hubbard by the back of the shoulder pads and pulled him an extra 5 yards beyond the 39-yard line for the necessary first-down yardage.
The play happened right in front of the Mountaineer bench for everyone to see, including the refs. After conferring with each other, the officials whistled Haslam for a 5-yard "helping the runner" penalty, which moved the football back to the 30.
"You can't pull, but you can push," is how West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez explained the unusual play earlier today. "My argument was that he wasn't pulling him; he was carrying him. That's a little different dynamic."
This isn't to question the legality, or the illegality of what Haslam did, or even the difference between "helping" and "pushing," but rather to point out what Haslam was trying to accomplish.
He was fighting for a West Virginia football team that, up to that point, had shown little fight all season long.
The 3-6 Mountaineers were in the midst of a five-game losing streak that had reached rock bottom on Saturday, Oct. 18, when they allowed a mediocre UCF team to steamroll them 45-13.
It was depressing to watch.
Rodriguez was at a loss for how poorly and how uninspired his guys played down in Orlando, so he had them go back to basics in the practices leading up to the TCU game, a 23-17 Horned Frog victory.
The loss two weeks ago in Morgantown probably wasn't a turning point, but rather a starting point for West Virginia.
Now, for the last two games at least, the guys are playing with much more passion, energy and enthusiasm - nobody more so than Haslam, a 6-foot-3, 335-pound junior offensive guard who spent last season at Austin Peay.
The "Donovan Drag" was a play that got the entire team excited and his coach took note.
"What was nice is I saw a clip later that (assistant athletic director/football management and strategy) Raquel (Rodriguez) showed me that you could see the sideline's emotion when that happened," Rodriguez said. "You could see that everybody was into the game, which to me, the thing that we've been trying to get all year is having everybody on our sidelines totally engaged in every play. It bothers me when that's not the case. At least in that moment, you can see that everybody was totally engaged in that play and that's what we've got to do."
"I thought it was a great play, but obviously the penalty got called," center Landen Livingston added. "When it got down to it, I just love how he played and how he's playing, and when in doubt, he was willing to do whatever to get that first down, especially in a situation where we really needed it."
On the next play, Fox responded by completing a 53-yard pass down the near sideline to Jeff Weimer for a first down to the Houston 17. Three plays after that, Hubbard got into the end zone from the 11 to give West Virginia a commanding 45-28 lead.
Haslam's great effort and that late-game drive were what this football team desperately needed.
"It definitely got our energy going on the road against a ranked team, and we definitely needed it," Livingston said.
"You'd rather everybody block so it wouldn't be so hard to get the first down, but Donovan has played hard, and he's making the most of his opportunity," Rodriguez observed. "I've said all along, playing hard is non-negotiable."
Livingston labels Haslam a "pretty talkative" and "competitive" person.
"You really like to have a guy like that playing next to you," the center explained. "I think he's taken steps in the last couple of games, and I've been impressed with the progress he's made."
West Virginia's surprising 45-35 upset victory in Houston last Saturday afternoon was certainly a step forward for the team, even if some "dragging" was required along the way.