Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which just tore a Band-Aid off its right knee to make certain it was in accordance with the rulebook. It’s been three days since we heard about a NCAA case, which either means WVU is in the clear or tomorrow is going to be an interesting day. Again.

All in all, not a great nine days for the university, and we’ll get more into that below, but the actual football was intriguing. I’ve only been watching practices for a few years now, so I don’t have quite the library of knowledge to fall back on, but this WVU team looks better than probably all the others I’ve seen … and I started covering as a backup in 20002 and full-time in 2007.

That doesn’t mean they are better or will play better, but they ace the eyeball test. Based on a week in pads, it may be the biggest, strongest and most able team I’ve seen here. I’ve been standing on the sideline watching and trying to put together the “Nightmare Team,” which is the 11 scariest looking dudes on offense and defense. It’s not hard. WVU hasn’t had a lot of guys who look like Bruce Irvin, Chris Neild, Robert Sands, Noel Devine, Ryan Clarke, Will Johnson or Ivan McCartney … and these guys are together.

Potential is a poisonous word to use this time of year, but based on the looks we’re allowed to have, WVU has a chance to have a chance.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, you have to pay the price.

Dave said:

“Ask me about NCAA violations.” 

/Shakes head
//Expects more

Answer Dude said:

This is not a big deal.

Because everyone does it, right?

Meat Head said:

This is big news. Like…(                           ) this big.

To please the NCAA, you must be committed to the rules.

glibglub said:

Even though I wasn’t being remotely serious, I’m having regrets about so flippantly putting Oliver Luck and Dan Dakich together in the same sentence. After all, Ollie had been a true Mountaineer for 20+ years before Dakich famously lurched out the Coliseum’s emergency exit. Forgive me.

Or forgive me. Check the headline from my July 4 column. Since then: Volleyball coach “resigns,” basketball coach breaks seven ribs to start speculation storm, football coach reveals past death threat, NCAA alleges five major violations and one secondary violation, new volleyball coach is hired, football program self-reports secondary violation. My bad.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

Mike,

Thanks for the update. Was there anyone there who can kick the ball into the endzone?

As for Quinton, perhaps he needed a snack…that is a big dude!

I’m told Corey Smith and John Howard get the ball into the end zone and Howard has more just a little more height and distance on his kicks. He’s a neat story, which I’ll tell next week. As for Spain, Oll Stewart hasn’t heard from the Eligibility Center (formerly the NCAA Clearinghouse) regarding their statuses (stati?).

hershy12 said:

The difference between Irvin and other juco DE’s…..He is real! I have seen him now.

That’s true. And I think he could be a hell-raiser, this year.

Homer said:

I need better talent evaluation sources than Stewart. He placed a Powlus-like All-American prediction on Tyler Urban, who has caught all of 14 career passes in two years. That was a good couple games for Lovett Purnell or Tony Becht, in case Stew wasn’t watching from Saskatchewan. So if this guy is a real difference maker at DE, I suspect he’ll make a couple special-teams tackles this year.

I hear you, H. We don’t know what he’s capable of yet and we know these things don’t always work out as predicted. I think this guy’s different, though. You should see him work out with the linebackers. Fits right in as far as speed, skill and agility. He’s got a future somewhere.

SmickNasty said:

We’ve never had a 5 star defensive end that was one of the top players in all of JUCO ball before. I watched this dude play online from his days at Mt San Antonio CC and the dude is a freak of nature. He’s so fast that when he rushes off the end the opposing QB has a little over a split second to react. Trust me, you’ll be hearing his name called a lot this year. Before we snagged him from UT, the guys on their forums repeatedly said this dude is legit 6′3 235 and runs in the 4.4-4.5 range. Beware of #11 is all I have to say

Noted. I’ve been watching him six days now and I can believe the hype … but isn’t that what the preseason is about?

Homer said:

Please name the last WVU player who made an immediate impact without a redshirt or back-up season. The closest recent one is Slaton, who really started playing half-way through his first real. I’m sorry that critical thinking and analysis offends the delicate fanboi sensibilities of NC Mountaineer, but the overhyped camp player is an annual rite from springs and summers immemorial.

You’re right and if the torch is to be passed this year, it goes to Irvin. But I also think he might dislocate his jaw and swallow the torch whole. The physical part of the game is what keeps a lot of first-year players from breaking through in their first season. Irvin doesn’t look like he has many physical limitations. And they’re going to be very basic with him — “Hand on the ground, sack the quarterback.” — and build from there. We probably need to establish expectations, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say he’ll be a guy we agree had an impact.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

1. Does JT’s mom have any eligibility left?
2. If so, can SHE kick the ball through the endzone?
3. I’ll continue to beat this drum until WVU can find someone who can kick the ball through the endzone on kickoffs.

Saw J.T.’s mom at practice. She can play, I’m certain.

glibglub said:

Or maybe she could run the compliance office.

Evidently, so could J.T.’s son.

SheikYbuti said:

I’m thinking we should track down the cigarette-and-ale addicted, pelvis-wagging, chant-inciting, in-debt-to-the-loan-sharks Welsh soccer specialist in “The Replacements.” To run the compliance office, of course.

I see you working.

Country Roads said:

How many pro kickers consistently put it through the endzone? I don’t watch a lot of pro football, but from what I do see, I don’t think there are too many.

Correct, because it’s not that easy. It’s hard to even consistently get the ball in the end zone. And to be honest, WVU has been so bad on coverage that teams will return every kick that goes into the end zone. The expectations have changed, too. Before you wanted a team to start at the 20- or 25-yard line. Now it’s the 30 or 35-yard line … though the rule changes (can’t block high, no wedges) may adjust that again.

Karl said:

Mike – I’ve never heard of John Howard, the backup PK. Any scouting info on him? Bitancurt is the best player on the team nobody talks about. I understand he was recovering from an injury over the offseason, so this Howard may see some action.

Howard’s a big ex-soccer player (6-2, 205) who did so well as the scout team kickoff specialist that Stewart decided to audition him for the real thing beginning Friday. Bitancurt is fine and has recovered form offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle. He won’t be involved in kickoffs because 1) he’s not as good as Smith and Howard and 2) they want to preserve his leg.

hershy12 said:

Mike – Any chance Sticks moves up the chart?

Anyone want to run to the left side in 2013?

/raises hand

On another note, I’m not sure I like Noel Devine returning kicks. I suppose it’s one of those high risk/high reward situations.

I don’t know how Sticks doesn’t play unless he doesn’t learn things quickly enough. He’s big and he gets the ball before anyone else. WVU hasn’t had a tall deep threat in a while (Chris Henry?) and Sticks may get in for that element alone. As for Noel, I think he wants to do it, so that may be all that matters.

JP said:

Now we have a secondary violation for players wearing pads during the “acclimitization period” at this year’s fall camp?  Someone cue Yakety Sax.

Hey, who  had Aug. 10 in the Yackety Sax pool?

Alli said:

If the kids aren’t hitting each other, why is it a problem if they’re wearing light weight, foam padding to protect themselves from accidental nicks? If you can wear ankle wraps, tape or knee braces, what’s the difference? This is ridiculous.

I think the intent is to make sure no one’s hitting one another — and WVU wasn’t hitting. If a team is allowed to wear pads those first two days, a team is more inclined to test the purpose of the “acclimatization period,” which is there to essentially ease players back into practice. What’s ridiculous to me is why this 24/7/365 sport — as framed and sanctioned by the NCAA — needs acclimatization.

glibglub said:

The most fun part of the rule is the prohibition of white shoes after Labor Day.

But it doesn’t define when the period of “after” ends. Isn’t the day before Labor Day still after Labor Day?

Dave said:

Good thing that we have a complince dept on the case.

Seems like a bad idea if we don’t.

We do have a compliance dept. and they do know that the football programs is i the MOST REVENUE GENERATING PART OF OUR ENTIRE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT … RIGHT???

True story: A BCS conference executive said WVU should have had its entire compliance department surrounding the football field at the start of practice — and there was no one there Saturday. One person showed up the subsequent days and was hard to identify … so much so that WVU had initially told the media no one was in attendance Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and then came back Tuesday and said someone was there Sunday and Monday, but no one knew that person was there. Shouldn’t that person have a flashing, neon sign that says “COMPLIANCE” with an arrow pointing at the person?

Josh24601 said:

WVU’s response to this will not be to send compliance staff to practice, but to prohibit outside photography and videography during practices.

Close. The response is to have employees go around practice with photographs of other players at other schools wearing  “protective equipment” and ask WVU beat writers to write about those other schools breaking the rules.

JutYourJaw said:

A report on Eersports.com states that multiple source have confirmed to Eersports.com that all members of the compliance staff have been busy finishing up the admission procedures for Tevita Finau. 

Oh … well, that’s good news. What if Finau and Irvin were in the same room at the same time. The hype maching would internally combust, I think.

Josh24601 said:

But those “spider pads” count as protective equipment? Is there a list of proscribed items? What about ankle braces? Knee braces? Is there some exemption for medical articles worn? OK, what about girdles, even the kind with the hard pads removed? Jockstraps?

No list, which is the problem. From what I was told, a school can ask the NCAA before practice if “Possibly Illegal Implement X” is permissible . Not sure if WVU did that. I’d have to guess it did not, though.

Dave said:

Ask me about repeated NCAA violations and doing nothing about them.

I knew it! Two for Dave.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

I lay this at the feet of JT’s mom. She is the one who removed the shoulder pads from her dresses so the boys would be safer at practice. This is all her fault.

Go ahead, ask her about fashion, ask her about fashion!

Forget it. I can’t bury that “Ask me about …” line. Ever. Why fight it? Whatever ban I’d tried to place on it, it’s removed. Let the fun begin.

hershy12 said:

Did we get the memo that it was rejected in 2008? Or maybe it has been sitting in our compliance office mailbox for the last 2 years. Maybe we should get someone to check that….hmmmm.

“Oh, you know what, here it is, I had anything from this address marked as junk mail.”

Well, who among us hasn’t had that happen?

NotSoFastMyFriend said:

“Did we get the memo that it was rejected in 2008? Or maybe it has been sitting in our compliance office mailbox for the last 2 years. Maybe we should get someone to check that….hmmmm.”

I believe that was shredded.

Ah!

Wayne said:

Mike,
So we have to wait until the Feb hearing date because RR gets a say in the matter?

There are three parties involved in the infractions case: WVU, the NCAA and The Product. All three have to agree on the date. WVU, one would presume, wants this over with as soon as possible. The NCAA invited WVU to meet an earlier deadline. Somehow this ended up in the February meeting instead of the December meeting. Mensa need not meet to figure that out.

Shannon said:

This is a big issue and as the Big East blogger for ESPN says this doesn’t do WVU any favors right now. To have a violation reported after major violations were already on the table looks sloppy and as if someone is not taking proper care and attention to monitor what is taking place, regardless if it is the head coach or the compliance officer. Stewart, ultimately, has the majority of the responsibility as the head coach and is responsible for what takes place during practice. If Stewart is unwilling to promote an atmosphere of following the rules, regardless of how silly they may be, can he be trusted to coach the team into the future? I think it is a serious question that needs to be addressed by the administration.

Stewart went into the season with a warm seat, in my opinion, and I believe these two separate violations have now put him on the hot seat.

There’s nothing wrong with any of that. Well put. It’s been said, but maybe it can’t be said enough, that at some point between when the Noice of Allegations was received last Wednesday and when football practice started Saturday, it would have been a good idea for important people to sit down and make sure everything in place was in place within the rules. If that didn’t happen, that’s a problem. If that did happen, it’s perhaps a bigger problem. And I know Stewart is the head coach, but I have a hard time putting all of this on him.

Spatial Angel said:

Seems like the new AD is getting a pass here. He shares responsibility.

He does. A lot of people do. Who, for example, should have organized that meeting I just mentioned? And who last week said WVU strives for perfection in compliance and anything short is not acceptable? Then again, it’s easy to point fingers here, but the bigger concern would be getting everything in order.

ccteam said:

Spatial Angel,
I agree. There is a new sheriff in town, the AD, and the first week of football practice has not been a shining moment for him. If the management style has changed, it would be difficult to detect it. A violation, minor as it is, should not have happened. The compliance team should be out in full force. Maybe they are, but it isn’t noticeable. Luck needs to be on top of it. He wasn’t. This in no way lets the football coaches off the hook though.
In some ways, this violation is more telling and embarrassing than the first ones. WV just got caught up in a situation with Rod’s problems initially. I can rationalize that they were ignorant of their non-compliance to the original issues. Now though, they should be hyper-aware of compliance issues. They obviously weren’t in the first two days of football practice.

Hard to disagree with any of that. And remember, when men’s soccer got probation, the compliance department was at the center. Same thing with the news from last week and this week. Those “repeat offender” words get louder and louder.

thacker said:

This is not the first time that the compliance department has been questioned, at least, within this blog.

What is more than likely at the root of these NCAA issues, along with many others, is the historical laissez-faire management style of the university’s athletic department.

That is about to change, dramatically, perhaps.

Throwing 107 mph out of the bullpen, it’s thacker!

Karl said:

Whatever I’ve thoguth of Bill Stewart the football coach, I’ve never doubted he’s a good man — warm, funny, honest, certainly not a cheat. But I’m beginning to wonder if maybe there’s a little more to it.

Flash back to that kickoff debacle against Cincy last year. After Stew took a few days of guff from the fans about how “clueless” he was, he came out swinging with his infamous “ask me about kickoffs” defense. Recall — he boasted he knew the rules but deliberately broke them because he thought nobody would actually enforce it. Far from being cluuless, he actually thought he was too clever for the rules. Could this relate with all these current problems?

That’s deep, Karl. Remember, he broke that rule twice, too.

Jeff in Akron said:

I don’t believe that Stewart did himself any favors, although it may not be his fault, he is responsible.

Mike, did you see Stewart escorting Dan Nehlen to the wood shed yesterday?

Luck stated last week that WVU had to strive for perfection regarding NCAA guidelines. If they failed they would acknowledge the failure and remedy the situation.

If Stewart isn’t careful, part of that remedy might be his replacement. I can’t believe we are talking about something like this so soon. Stewart needs to tow the company line.

From where I sit, Luck won’t accept anything less.

/Luck’s cell phone rings

Luck: Hello, this is Oliver.
Caller: O, you hear this violation stuff?
Luck: … well, yeah. Five major violations, one secondary violation. We’ve taken steps to fix it and we’re confident in our —
Caller: Uh, check your inbox.
Luck: (Silence interrupted by Blackberry hitting oak)

hershy12 said:

“Myth 5: Everyone does this.”

This is listed as a myth, and I do agree that not everyone does this. Let’s say, though, that everyone does do this. Who cares? Just because everyone else “does” it, doesn’t mean WVU should. I would like to think that WVU would try to do things right no matter what everyone else is doing, and I think most WVU fans would agree. I know this is cliche, but if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you do it too? I would hope the answer is no.

Conversation I had this week:

Person: You have to admit, it’s a dumb rule.
Me: You have to admit it’s a rule.
Person: Well, yeah, but —
Me: OK.

glibglub said:

I understand laying this at the feet of the head coach ultimately, but honestly, what are the compliance people doing? (And the equipment people?) Admittedly, I don’t know exactly what these folks do day in and day out, but it seems to me that they would provide compliance education to people in the program, and routine monitoring of activities of coaches and players in the program to ensure that everyone is, you know, complying, thus leaving coaches free to coach and players free to play (and practice in a fashionably correct manner). The new AD may need to clean house if they can’t do better than this.

Back to the major violations. I recall that the notice of allegations referenced an episode where the compliance staff pointed out potential violations to the previous regime, and nothing was done to remedy the situation. What, The Product didn’t answer their letter, so they threw up their hands and forgot? What I’d like to know is how vociferously the compliance people were about pursuing the issue. Was Product the obstacle to correcting the problem? If not, who/what was the obstacle? What was done about it? If nothing, why not? After the coaching change, were the same issues noted by the compliance staff? If so, what did they do about it and when? If they noted the same problems and did nothing, then what the deuce?

All good questions that we’re probably not going to have answered because none of the people can comment to us. It will come out in the paperwork, though, when WVU and P-Rod reply to the NCAA — and his response should be memorable because I have no doubt he’ll try to bury WVU — and then when all the parties meet in February. I expect a lot of answers then and, sadly, not before then.

notruB said:

Anybody hedging on Brunetti being the backup and Johnson getting some looks at other positions just to get him on the field. I heard somewhere that Johnson was the fastest player on the team…consider that with the burners we have.

I’ve heard the same reviews of Johnson, but I don’t think he’ll move. For one, he’s not going to be better at receiver or running back than someone already at that postition. Two, if he plays elsewhere and avoids a redshirt, and Brunetti is the backup and avoids a redshirt, then next year WVU has a junior and twoo sophomores at quarterback. I think they want to break it up a little better and have veterans in place over a line of years. Now there maybe something to keeping Johnson around as a running option who can make plays with his legs at the QB position, but Mullen insists there isn’t much of a difference between Brunetti and Johnson, which then brushes aside the idea of keeping one around as just a runner.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

This will be a big decision. I think whoever doesn’t get the #2 job probably transfers. Just my two cents…

That’s a rish you always take and one you always have to manage.

lowercase jeff said:

artist – ive always wondered how in the world recruiters get these kids to go schools with 2,3 options at qb. barry brunetti by all accounts is real division 1 caliber qb. i dont understand why he’d want to go to a school invested in a kid one year older than him. its not like we’re a qb factory where one year starters are catapulted into the nfl. just seems weird.

How do I say this? I don’t think schools are done recruiting Johnson and/or Brunetti.

Sam said:

Considering that the NCAA is sniffing around Morgantown, wouldn’t we be better off leaving Calipari off the guest list?

Enjoy the weekend!