Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which would like to get nostalgic for a moment. As an 8-year-old with no possible way of knowing where life would lead me, I vividly remember watching the 1989 Fiesta Bowl in the basement of my Manassas, Va., home with my father.

Notre Dame was Notre Dame and I wasn’t old or wise enough to grasp the enormity of the college game — and yet there was just something about those Mountaineers. I remember Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen talking about this WVU defense, but the quarterback … my gosh.

Oh, I knew about Major Harris beforehand, but not like that. The highlights, which back then just weren’t as available as they are today, were stunning. This, I thought, would be fun to watch.

And then he was hurt before the game ever really got going and what I was left with was a compromised quarterback trying to lead a diminished offense against a revving powerhouse.

Years later, I had a rather private conversation with someone who was a big part of how that powerhouse was built and I asked, ‘If Major Harris doesn’t get hurt, is that game different?’ He thought for a moment and replied, ‘It isn’t 34-21.’

Harris would admit regret of another kind Thursday when he was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Harris, who finished third in the 1988 Heisman Trophy voting and fifth a year later, thought for sure he’d have a prosperous NFL career and left WVU after his junior season. The Raiders picked him in the 12th round in 1990. He never played in the league and bounced around smaller professional leagues.

“The way I did it was wrong,” said Harris, who totaled 7,334 yards and 59 touchdowns passing and rushing as a starter from 1987-89.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, look closely.

overtheSEC said:

In the words of the late great Jack Fleming. “Here comes the Major”
I memorized the Mountaineer Rap (which sampled a lot of Fleming’s exclamations) when I was in the second grade so I think a quote from the Maj himself is most appropriate at this time:
“Well I’m M.C. Major and I’m the quarterback,
I’m the one that leads the offense’s attack.
I call the play in huddle–either pass it or run,
You see, the bottom line is, I get the job done.”  

Does Major rap at the induction? And is Nehlen on the 1s and 2s?

rekterx said:

The Run. That is all I have to say. The Run.  

Done.

Latin Hillbilly said:

i bet todd mcshay hates this pick.  

Well done. That is all I have to say. Well done. 

Karl said:

It’s funny that you should single out McShay, Michael. Tonight he and Kiper were on Sportscenter going over the draft when the moderator asked them to name the one player the other was the most wrong about. Kiper warned McShay he was underestimating Pat White and predicted time would make him look stupid for it. For anyone curious, McShay said Kiper was too high on Beanie Wells.

I hope he doesn’t think I singled him out. I just never witnessed this alleged bias people had been telling me about until I saw what I saw. Then everything I’d been told was right there in front of me. I was oddly riveted. I respect the guy and what he does and that he’s opinionated and passionate about it. But, to me, there’s being critical and there’s being irrelevant. I can understand the criticism of White in terms of size and perhaps even experience in a passing offense. I can’t get the cricitism of his athleticism and how it relates to the particular team that drafted him.

BL said:

I really don’t understand McShay’s constant bashing of Pat White. It’s like Pat stole his girlfriend, shot his dog and burned down his house. How in the heck do you get the job as director of Scouts, Inc.?

Good question. This is from his (hacked?) wikipedia page: “Collegiately, he attempted to walk-on while attending Div. I-AA University of Richmond, but was switched to defensive back and garnered little playing time. During summers, McShay worked with a traveling carnival in the Guess Your Weight booth. One evening McShay correctly guessed the weight of a man, his wife, and their three children. The man, Gary Horton, was so impressed that he offered McShay an internship at his talent evaluation company, The War Room, which produced independent scouting reports to NFL teams. Upon graduation, McShay was offered a full-time position with The War Room, which was subsequently purchased by ESPN and changed to Scouts, Inc.”

Sam Wilkinson said:

I assume we’d apply all the same standards to Eric Devendorf? It seems to me that Mazulla has to be suspended until there is an actual outcome here, and whatever punishment that comes afterward would be a result of that. We can blame alcohol, or the woman, or the situation, or the injury, or whatever else, but Mazulla put himself into a bad situation, and that’s nobody’s fault but his own. He bears responsibility for the choices he made.  

Ah, onto Joe Mazzulla. No argument. At the base level, it is by his own doing he was drinking underage with a woman at a bar where things escalated. He’s subject to whatever punishment is coming his way.

NCMountaineer said:

Mike,

First let me say that I love your blog and all you do to give us fans insight on everything WVU. I usually agree with you, but I disagree with you on this. You could argue that the first arrest was an aberration, but when it happens again – and this time for allegedly pulling a Devendorf – you have to wonder if its the norm. I appreciate the fact that you know the guy on a personal level and feel for him, but WVU – and Bob Huggins – does not need to garner a bad rep for harboring troublemakers. Huggs needs to do what he can to find Joe a home to finish his career, but his days in Morgantown should be over.

Nothing wrong with differing here … and of course I disagree. I’d rather have the rep for helping people get through personal issues than casting them aside when it’s pretty clear they need help. Perhaps that explains my stance here. Why does he need a new home? Why uproot him and send him off for the help he could receive here?  

overtheSEC said:

Huggins has personal experience with a poor choice involving alcohol. He was given a second chance, but it came at a different school. I think he has a chance to make sure Joe gets help and learns his lesson and gets his next chance with a different school. I just think it’s tough to let Mazzulla keep his scholarship and watch another kid have to give his up. Although Joe provides a great spark for the team, I’ve got to think Huggins–who hates to lose–kicking Mazzullla off the team would only solidify the current team and make sure Ebanks and others stay in line.

It would set a hell of a precedent. I’ll say it again, one of the first things I thought of was Drew Schifino.

Foul Shot said:

Suspension until further information or an outcome shows what truly happened. I am leaning toward Joe moving on.
You just cannot put your hands around some woman’s throat.
The police, I am sure, would not have arrested the guy if there were not witnesses and marks on her neck.
It is just inexcusable. You don’t do that.
This to go along with Sanders on the FB team just gives our program a bad name.
A large majority of us went to parties (block parties, etc.) in Morgantown while we were in school. How come these guys just cannot go home and sleep it off? Amazing.

No one’s condoning what he’s alleged to have done, and yet we’re not sure exactly what happened. The arrest, by the way, came a week after the incident and Joe is said to have turned himself in once he learned there was a warrant out for him.

Dave said:

Do we even know the real story? The incident happened on the 18th and the arrest on the 24th. Why the delay? On the surface, it sounds like a “real can really screw him” story.

Look, I don’t condone violence against another person, but in a bar with all of the things going on, things can happen that are considered violence. I cannot believe that someone willingly went out of their way to harm someone else. There was most likely an argument and in a bar, things can get twisted around. Was she attacking him for some reason? Was he attacking her? I might sound unpopular here, but I spent many nights in Morgantown bars and have witnessed all sorts of completely ridiculous scenarios where one person or the other was “advertised” one way or another. Men against men, men against women, women against women. Do we even know what was going on? She could have been approaching him with a broken bottle, but since he defended himself, it’s in the media as “Guy assaulted girl.” While I don’t condone “violence” against women, I have seen women attack guys who have every right to defend themselves and it wasn’t a case of assault, but I’ve seen guys get accused of assaulting women because they did not sit back and take whatever jealous outrage was being pounded on them.

It’s not much different than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was driving a car years ago coming up by the old stadium and this elderly lady was *flying* down the hill and hit me head on with her grandchild in her car. I had pictures of the accident to show the court that I was in my lane at the time and she crossed the center line, I had evidence that police report was faulty because the report did not show a true representation of the accident or damage, I had to take (and passed) the on-site sobriety test in front of the corner bar window, and I had a witness who said that the car was moving above and beyond the limit at the time of the accident. But apparently, it was my fault because was a college-age kid in a bar district following a football game. And I paid for both my repairs and hers, even though I had the evidence to show otherwise. Apparently, lead foot grandmothers cannot be convicted on speeding charges in Sunnyside. Her plea … she didn’t have one. It was all about me being on the defensive for something that I was not wrong about doing.

If Mazzulla fragrantly went out of his way to harm a female, that is one thing. If there is more to the story (and there often is … and I have not seen anything related to what happened in detail), then let’s wait on judgement until the facts are known. But to judge whether or not this kid should lose his basketball future, scholarship and whatever else seems premature at this point.

And there are actually times when things happen that are not indicative of past experience.

I just wanted to share that. It may or may not apply here, but it’s worth considering. It’s just not fair to assume we know everything. Or anything.

Alli said:

I still don’t see how putting your hand on a woman’s throat is less troubling than putting your hand on her throat AND squeezing. It still says, “I can choke you, and I WANT to choke you.” Sure he may have lost his mind for a second, and done something he has never done and will never do again. But it still suggests that he has serious anger problems. Perhaps what you are saying Mike is that he had his hands on her shoulders to try to calm her down (or something) and his hand slipped. That seems like a pretty big stretch, but I guess it’s possible.

Do I hope this is just one big misunderstanding? Yes! Of course. I want that for both Mazz and the young woman. However, if it turns out to be true, I think he needs counseling at the very least.

Yes, that is what I meant — that there could be different interpretations of hands around the neck. And yes, it is a stretch. Thanks for the benefit of the doubt.

Sam Wilkinson said:

I will speculate: if it’s a good enough reason to justify his behavior, it’s a good enough reason for him to voluntarily leave the team. He seems to be playing both sides against the middle, arguing that he has serious problems that excuse his behavior, and that his serious problems are so serious that he cannot leave the team. It makes no sense.

I’m sorry, but I’d rather have five less wins and an upstanding program than five more wins and program with players on the team who can’t be responsible adults.

That’s a fair blueprint and it leaves open the possibility for rehabilitation and a return. Obviously, we haven’t reached the end here.  

Mack said:

I think Bob Hertzel should make a public apology for this line:

“If he wasn’t a football player he’d be a waiter, because he brings so much to the table.”  

I think you should ask him. 

gordo said:

I love this guy. I’m pretty sure I in the minority on this, but I love his quaint, hill-billiness and unwillingness to back down.

Hey, you’ve been missing out if you haven’t been following Oll Twitter. I think he threatened Cub and Boy Scouts this week. Honest.

Foul Shot said:

Oh no.
How many O-linemen are going to be on the All Star team this season?
Hopefully the defense is better.
But, you just don’t know what to expect.
I hope it goes well for Stew, but another 4 loss season or even a 5 loss season is going to have the Indians swarming around General Custer.

They won’t be swarming over the things he says or how he says them. As is the case everywhere, it’s wins and losses.

Mike Gansey’s Stylist said:

Gordo,

He can be as quaint & hillbilly as he wants…as long as we win a BCS bowl in the next two years, otherwise I will be one of the indians circling Foul Shot is referring to. Down home goodness is fine, unless it is accompanied by mediocrity, then it just becomes annoying.  

Once again, someone says it better than I do.

Homer said:

Maybe Stewart should play more of his games on paper, or at least write down “timeouts remaining” on paper. Can’t take ‘em with you to the locker room, Aristotle of Appalachia. 

Yes. Aristotle of Appalachia. Yes.

Country Roads said:

With the exception of losing Brown, Arnett, Lyons, Capers, Williams, and Allen (and maybe Devine?), the 2010 team looks to have a LOT of potential. Developing depth behind that group will be essential for 2011, but really, other than QB, I love the way this is setting up for 2010.  

So, too, does Stewart. Nobody’s talking about this, and you can understand why, but that team could be very, very good in 2010 especially if these newcomers hit and the offensive line can stay in line this season.

gordo said:

I guess I have a different view of Dakich. It doesn’t suprise me at all that he is good at being a radio show host.

When I was living in NC, I was coaching a bball team. I took my team to a practice session for the first round of the NCAA tournament. Dakich was an assistant at Indiana at the time and they were getting ready to take the floor. There was a delay and Dakich started inviting some younger folks (including my entire team) down to the floor to have a free throw competition with him. He was very friendly and entertaining. He had the whole crowd into it. It was a neat experience for all my guys. I kinda changed my mind about the guy after that experience.

Neat little story. And Dakich continues to mystify me eight years after the fact, though “Tyrone Sally Squatting Up Against a Wall With a 20-pound Weight On His Lap as Punishment for Showing Up on Time Instead of Five Minutes Early for a Meeting” would beg to differ.

Karl said:

Pat McAfee is the LAST guy who should be making fun of someone for shanking kicks against Pittsburgh

Aww.

Jeff in Akron said:

I don’t remember the particulars, but the shanked kick was the final straw for Mike Vanderjagt in Indy. He had gotten into a diasagreement with Peyton Manning. Mike V. said some things publicly that he shouldn’t have. The sound bite I heard, appeared that Mike was less than sober. Manning called him an “Idiot Kicker” in response. My guess is, that is what got Mike’s bags packed in Indy. I believe I felt at the time that Vanderjagt had really stepped in it. I don’t care how accurate you are as a kicker. You don’t call out the franchise QB.

You can call out the franchise QB. Once.

Casto said:

How does a kicker get to hold onto a number? I bet the guy is making the league minimum as an undrafted kicker. PW can kick him $20K from his signing bonus for it…… 

Perhaps. Carpenter was indeed undrafted out of Montana last year and his signing bonus was a mere $7,500. Trouble is, Carpenter is pretty good.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

Pat is worthy of running for Governor in WV. He’s another rookie, not even a first rounder in the NFL.

He’s not getting a veteran to give up a number without significant $$ changing hands, and I don’t see him having the ego necessary to offer the money.

That’s why Pat White is my second favorite Mountaineer since I left school….right behind Owen.

Agreed … and that is why Pat White is also pretty good. 

Ray Finkle said:

I once wore #5 in Miami and look at me. I turned out fine!

Enjoy the weekend!