MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Steve Slaton may have been the College of Maryland’s seventh Faculty Soccer Corridor of Famer, however as a substitute he turns into the seventh from West Virginia College.
The 22-member Faculty Soccer Corridor of Fame Class of 2025 was introduced by the Nationwide Soccer Basis on ESPN’s Faculty Soccer Reside yesterday afternoon, and amongst them was Slaton, who’s simply the 14th participant or coach related to WVU to be immortalized with school soccer’s highest honor.
Late yesterday afternoon, Slaton, now residing in Houston, Texas, recalled Maryland’s abrupt 180 diploma activate him when he was being recruited out of Conwell-Egan Catholic Excessive in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.
“I dedicated to Maryland, and I feel I used to be with them for perhaps 4 months, after which a reporter known as me and requested me if it was true that my scholarship was taken,” he recalled.
“So, I known as my recruiter, who occurred to be (Penn State head coach) James Franklin, and he was ducking and dodging me,” Slaton stated. “After I lastly talked to him, he simply stated if that they had a letter-of-intent left on signing day they might give me one. It wasn’t a assure, so I went again in the marketplace and just about each college I used to be speaking to wished me to play protection.”
“They had been idiots,” West Virginia assistant coach Invoice Kirelawich stated. “There was little doubt in my thoughts that Steve Slaton was going to be an excellent school operating again. I in all probability thought he was higher than he thought he was.”
After all, Slaton wished to play operating again in school, and he did his analysis on West Virginia and found that the Mountaineers had developed an excellent custom of 1,000-yard rushers beginning with Amos Zereoue within the late Nineteen Nineties and persevering with with Avon Cobourne and Quincy Wilson.
The catchy “Landing Metropolis” moniker the native newspaper got here up with and was on billboards throughout city additionally caught his consideration.
“After I began out, I believed West Virginia was a part of Virginia,” the Levittown, Pennsylvania, native chuckled, “however I came upon they had been a very heavy operating college and the sport I got here to I feel they performed Temple and Kay Jay Harris had an enormous sport, and I wished to go to a college that ran the ball like that.”
On the time, West Virginia was additionally recruiting closely publicized five-star operating again Jason Gwaltney out of Lengthy Island, and Kirelawich, the assistant coach pursuing Slaton, made that reality identified to him instantly.
“I used to be very conscious of Jason Gwaltney, and my man Invoice Kirelawich was all the time in truth trustworthy,” Slaton stated. “I feel that is what I beloved most about him.”
Kirelawich stated the very first thing that basically impressed him about Slaton wasn’t his blinding velocity or his wonderful ball abilities, however reasonably his character.
“I am going to let you know what, I arrange a house go to with him and in these days, we used to inform the youngsters to go to the highschool or meet at a spot after which I might comply with them to their home. There was no GPS or something like that again then,” Kirelawich stated.
“Effectively, nearly each child that I had, I might be ready on the college, and he’d come by, and we would go. Not Steve. He was the primary child, and perhaps the one child, that was there earlier than I obtained there. He was ready on me, and I am all the time early. Proper then and there, I knew we had a particular man.”
Slaton’s dad and mom, Carl and Juanita, additionally received Kirelawich over.
“His mom and pa had been simply tremendous individuals, simply fantastic,” he gushed. “You possibly can see, a child like that, coming from the dad and mom he had, he is obtained to be a superb child.”
Kirelawich recalled North Carolina being a college that Slaton was actually serious about, and he inspired him to go to Chapel Hill earlier than making his last resolution.
“I stated, ‘Look, in case you’ve obtained doubts, then take the journey to North Carolina. That is one factor the place you have to be completely sure that you’re proper.’ I informed him that in entrance of his mom and pa,” Kirelawich stated. “He checked out his mother and pa, and he checked out me, and he stated, ‘Nah, I do know I am proper. I will West Virginia.”
As for Gwaltney, Kirelawich stated Slaton by no means batted an eye fixed.
“I informed him, ‘You understand, we have got Gwaltney, a five-star man and an All-American.’ He stated, ‘That does not trouble me. I am going to compete with whoever you could have there,'” Kirelawich stated.
And compete he did.
Slaton obtained his huge alternative six video games into his freshman season in 2005 when he rushed for 90 yards on simply 11 carries in a 34-17 loss in opposition to third-ranked Virginia Tech.
Steve was the one Mountaineer participant to actually do something in opposition to the Hokies that afternoon, and that efficiency demonstrated to the teaching workers that he was keen to compete in opposition to anyone, regardless of the circumstances.
“That was a confidence sport, and I feel a whole lot of issues went into that had been I had per week of making ready to get extra enjoying time,” Slaton admitted. “I actually did not get a lot (enjoying time) until we had been profitable handily, and that was an opportunity to play, and you have to benefit from the alternatives that you simply do get.”
Two weeks later, quarterback Pat White obtained his huge alternative in opposition to Louisville, and the freshman duo placed on one of many biggest exhibits in Milan Puskar Stadium historical past. White orchestrated a 17-point, fourth-quarter comeback, and Slaton scored a school-record six touchdowns within the Mountaineers’ unforgettable 46-44 triple-overtime victory over the Cardinals.
A number of weeks later, Slaton rushed for 179 yards and scored two touchdowns in WVU’s 45-13 victory over Pitt after which capped an excellent freshman season by going into the guts of SEC nation and speeding for a Sugar Bowl-record 204 yards with three touchdowns in West Virginia’s gorgeous 38-35 victory over Georgia in Atlanta.
That is the sport that put Wealthy Rodriguez and Mountaineer soccer on the school soccer map.
Former WVU defensive coordinator Steve Dunlap, watching the sport on tv, stated years later that Slaton’s efficiency was the closest he had ever seen to somebody matching Pitt’s Tony Dorsett. Dunlap had spent two seasons at WVU chasing Dorsett when Dorsett starred for the Panthers within the mid-Nineteen Seventies.
Slaton’s biggest sport got here throughout his greatest season in 2006 when the Mountaineers rallied to defeat the Panthers 45-27 at Heinz Discipline in Pittsburgh. He rushed for 215 yards and scored two touchdowns and caught six passes for 130 yards and two extra scores.
It was a sport that displayed his immense all-around skills.
“I keep in mind it was an in depth sport within the first half, and it was a type of video games that was blow-by-blow to the place I feel the lengthy landing catch that I made tied it up,” Slaton stated. “We had been all the time a superb second-half crew with the entire conditioning that we did, and it took over.”
Slaton’s most personally satisfying efficiency occurred seven video games prior when he ran for 195 yards and scored two touchdowns within the Mountaineers’ 45-24 house victory over Maryland.
That was one among two instances he confronted the crew that had scorned him. The opposite, in 2007, he ran for 137 yards and tallied three touchdowns in 31-14 win in Faculty Park.
“It was form of a type of issues of, ‘That is what you would have had.’ (The 2006 Maryland sport) was a type of memorable video games to the place it was like a scorned lover,” he laughed.
Slaton’s 1,744 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2006 helped him earn unanimous All-America honors, and he concluded his three-year school profession in 2007 with one other 1,000-yard season and a victory over Oklahoma within the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Slaton’s three-year totals included 3,923 yards and 50 speeding touchdowns with 65 receptions for 805 yards and 5 further scores.
Quickly after 2007 season, which culminated a three-year run that featured three consecutive top-10 finishes and bowl wins within the Sugar, Gator and Fiesta, Slaton opted to place his identify into the NFL Draft.
He felt that he did all he may at WVU throughout these three years and had nothing left to show.
“We had been on a quest for a nationwide championship, and that was as excessive as you would go,” Slaton defined. “The NFL stands for not for lengthy for operating backs, in order that was a type of issues the place it was good timing for me to depart.
“There was nothing else to actually seize at,” he added. “These information that these guys have, they’re very deserving to have them, and I’ve my very own, so I am happy with those I’ve, and I am fairly certain they’re happy with those they’ve.”
Though Slaton rushed for greater than 1,000 yards throughout his rookie season with the Houston Texans, a shoulder damage first suffered in school made it tough for him to carry onto the soccer. Ultimately, the damage compelled his untimely retirement from the sport in 2011.
Slaton has remained in Houston together with his spouse, Kim, and their three youngsters Julian (18), Brennan (16) and Darla (eight). He enrolled in culinary college after his enjoying profession and presently works as a personal chef.
Slaton additionally retains up together with his Mountaineers and is fired up about seeing his outdated ball coach returning to Morgantown to complete what he began within the mid-2000s.
“I feel it is nice, and I feel the entire panorama of the West Virginia fan world is ecstatic as nicely,” he stated. “That is what I find out about West Virginia soccer and having that man again on the helm is unquestionably going to be an excellent factor to look at. I feel he’ll get issues circled as quick as he can. I am trying ahead to being again on the town simply to look at it.”
Slaton can also be trying ahead to an upcoming Faculty Soccer Corridor of Fame ceremony that can function the likes of Terry Hanratty, Graham Harrell, Terry Metcalf, Michael Strahan, Michael Vick and coaches Nick Saban and City Meyer.
These are a few of the biggest names in school soccer historical past!
“I am nonetheless attempting to understand it as a result of simply being nominated for it, it is like, ‘Hey, do I actually deserve this?'” he stated. “There are a whole lot of guys who play the sport, and there are a whole lot of guys who’re remembered by their crew, however that is endlessly to the school soccer world.”
Certainly, it’s.
Not too shabby for a man who began out his school profession being second fiddle to a man named Morgan Inexperienced, who Maryland took as a substitute of Slaton.
Kirelawich all the time knew what was in Steve, simply as he knew what was in so many different nice gamers he recruited to West Virginia via the years.
“I can keep in mind a man telling me he wasn’t going to recruit Bo Orlando as a result of he did not suppose Bo may play defensive again,” Kirelawich stated. “He ran a 4.4, he benched 400 kilos, and he could not play defensive again? He additionally did it for about 9 years within the professionals.
“Trustworthy to God, when you find yourself recruiting, you may’t take anyone else’s phrase. The one man who is aware of is what’s in your head and what’s in West Virginia’s head,” Kirelawich defined. “If we noticed {that a} man was a superb participant, all that star bull—- did not imply something to us.”
Kirelawich trusted his eyes on Steve Slaton, and now, the remainder of us will endlessly being Slaton’s No. 10 jersey on the Milan Puskar Stadium façade.
