MORGANTOWN -- Pat Liebig, who last played football in 2006, is awaiting word from the NCAA on whether he will be permitted to play his remaining year of eligibility this fall.

"He has applied to the NCAA for permission, and I think his chance of being approved is very good," Coach Bill Stewart said. "But he has not heard anything yet."

Liebig left after the 2006 school year because his father, Thomas, was ill and needed him to help operate the family's three automobile dealerships in Naples, Fla. But the businesses have been sold and the elder Liebig's health has improved.

"Pat was not only a very good player but an honor student," Stewart said of the native of Germany. "He had a grade point average of 3.6 or 3.7 in finance and accounting, and he did the right and honorable thing by leaving.

"Coach (Bill) Kirelawich urged him to complete his eligibility (in 2007), but he said he was needed at home. And we all certainly understood. That was the most important thing in Pat's life at that time.

"So he left and Coach Kirlav has stayed in touch with him ever since."

Stewart happened to be in the Naples area on a recruiting trip with Doc Holliday in late spring and decided to call the 6-foot-4, 270-pound Liebig. The coach was invited to the former player's home.

"I said, 'You need to come back,'" the Mountaineer mentor recalled. "Pat had been working out and wasn't as big but strong and lean.

"I asked Pat how long it would take him to get back to playing condition, and he said 'about two months.'

"I told his father, 'Now that you're all right and you've sold the businesses, we'd like to have him back.' He said, 'OK. If he wants to do it, that's the right thing for him'"

So Liebig continues to whip himself into playing shape while awaiting clearance from the NCAA. Stewart believes the humanitarian circumstances along with his excellent academic standing would justify approval by that governing body.

Liebig lettered three years for WVU (2003, '05, '06). He was credited with making 39 tackles, including 17 solo stops, was named to the Big East academic all-star team and was a member of the Athletic Director's Academic Honor Roll.

Obviously, Liebig's return would be a big boost to the WVU defensive line.

"With Pat Liebig, you know what you've got," Stewart said. "You've got a guy who's 23 or 24 years old and who played here -- not a 19- or 20-year-old. And his 3.6 GPA ... this guy is what it's all about."