Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which had until 5 p.m. to withdraw today’s submission and return to yard work, but thought it over, met with some landscapers and decided it was in its best interests to be here.

We’re stuck in a blah time of the year where we’re waiting on all sorts of things: Does Aaric Murray complete his transfer (Answer: Yes)? Does Kevin Jones go pro (the timeline still looks strange, to me, and KJ is on the fence)? When the H is football camp? What about that gobstopper NCAA case? How low is the pendulum swinging today? And has anyone found a hornet’s nest to kick?

On and on it goes and you must be entertained by other means … and thank goodness WVU baseball has a thumping pulse this season and the women’s track team has a chance to do some really good things in upcoming championship meets.

Hey — I saw that yawn! Is that my cue?

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be mindful of your appearance.

ffejboc said:

Somebody needs to tell Sam Huff to direct his anger at the stupid, archaic, draconian NCAA rules…not WVU.

Volunteers? Anyone? This thing on?

rekterx said:

Ah yes … the compliance industry. It’s apparently becoming a big business … just like everything else related to college athletics.

Soon there will be the equivalent of “People Magazine”for NCAA issues; a magazine/website devoted to personalities in the world NCAA compliance and athletic department issues. Debbie Yow and Gary Williams will be on the first cover. The first issue will also have a feature on Lane Kiffin and Bruce Pearl.

Mike, you could get in on the ground floor of the newest supermarket checkout aisle publication.

I don’t think they’d have me. Sadly, I do think you’re onto something. Are you familiar at all with The Bylaw Blog? It’s actually very good, but is it the ground floor of a bigger idea?

rekterx said:

Let me add that the presence of Compliance Command Central, while apparently necessary in the current climate, is hilarious.

Are the Compliance Gestapo Officers who will be circulating among the masses to be given two-way radios so that they can call for back-up in case they are aware of a potential 102.A.III.d.7 violation? Will these people have uniforms or other ID designating them as compliance officers? Will there be counter efforts to create distractions so that someone away from the distraction can grab a quick picture with or ask a quick question of a recruit?

Hey! I’ve got an idea!

Let’s invite a bunch of recruits to a very public event and then tell people that they cannot act like it is a public event.

There is no business like show business … and governmental/institutional bureaucracies.

Fired up about this, are you? As in most instances, the NCAA is at fault. I can’t blame the compliance office for this. They have a duty, at the least, to be visible. If something were to happen at the game and WVU was out in force and in sight, WVU can say, “Hey, we tried everything” and probably get the benefit of the doubt. Remember last summer when a BCS conference executive was told WVU compliance was absent the first day of the spider pads fiasco and interchangeably absent or barely visible after? I asked if perhaps a compliance officer should have stood at the 50-yard line with a neon sign flashing “COMPLIANCE.” There was no laughter. That exec told me WVU should have had its compliance department surrounding the field. Better late than never, yes?

overtheSEC said:

“I love West Virginia University,” Huff said, “but I’m still ticked off they fired Bill Stewart. It was wrong. He’s won. He’s won bowl games. What the hell do you want, but (Luck) wants to bring in his old friends, I guess.”

Geez, Jack. Bury the lede much?

Better late than never, yes? Actually, the story wasn’t about that opinion and, all do respect to Mr. Huff and his violent world, but what does his opinion matter? I mean, it’s not like a player can speak up and get a coach hired and — whoops.

pnocker40 said:

So the “Sam” that posts here is Sam Huff?

No, why?

Dave said:

They should rename the compliance table to “Mother, may I?”

Can we invite the compliance officers from the NCAA in for a beer?

I had some questions from another thread and some were answered here, but it seems to come down to:

– did WVU notify everyone just recently, or did the process of inviting recruits on some such a high-profile day with former players, etc., involve asking how the other 100 schools do it for spring games?

– can’t we sequester the recuits into a suite? Nothing says “feels like home” better than being isolated and told what not to do.

– if there is that big of a risk, could the visits be moved?

– And on a personal note, what if someone is there not on an official visit but recognized as a potential student-athlete? Could WVU not have brought them in “officially,” or, what if there is someone else in attendance who fits the bill but not on the official list?

Let’s go in order:

– there was a fair amount of warning, though I can’t speak for everyone and assume they all thought it was sufficient. And compliance is a constant study of other schools and other cases.

– the suite is a good idea, but I wonder, though, if that could be categorized as favorable treatment. I’d like to see WVU hire someone — fine, me — on a reasonable salary and find ways to spot and exploit loopholes. I think someone like that could do a lot of good for the schools and also prevent them from doing a lot of bad.

– visits can be moved, but it’s a spring weekend with a game and a pretty big crowd and addictive environment. Behind closed doors, the prospects are free to meet with potential teammates and coaches. It’s very useful, so much so that basketball brings signed and prospective players up to witness it.

SheikYbuti said:

I’m getting this uncomfortable feeling of vague dread. I know it’s far from a perfect analogy, but every time I see or hear the words “Ivan McCartney,” a little voice in the back of my head returns a faint echo of “Brandon Barrett.”

Whoa! Can’t help your vague dread, but can I discourage it? I’m surprised how much grief McCartney has gotten. We don’t see everything — or anything close to that — but I never saw anything outwardly disruptive or negative. He was hurt. The coach kind of hinted maybe he wasn’t that hurt. I still think he’ll get it going in the fall.

ccteam said:

Eu was quoted in your article today talking about the offenses options saying, “each guy can do everything.” That got me thinking about a criticism of last year’s offense. While it claimed to be multiple, it was limited by the players involved in any given play. They could only do (or were only asked to do) limited things. When Devine was in the game the play calls were somewhat predictable because he was asked to only do certain things. Same with Clarke and Alston. You could predict with some degree of certainty what play was going to be run based on who was in the game. Sounds like Eu is saying that won’t be true anymore. I hope he is right.

It sounds ideal, but I wonder if, or how, that can be true. Trey Johnson and Shawne Alston can’t run the same plays. Tyler Urban can’t run a screen pass. Tavon can’t run fade routes. They all told me these things. I think what Eu referenced is how it appears guys are capable of doing everything asked of them relative to their position and that those capabilities are disguised by varied formations and packages. And whatever the case, it already seems evident WVU is less predictable.

Jeff in Akron said:

From Akron, my favorite part of the entire weekend was hearing this from Nehlen via video, “Michigan had a pretty good thing going until somebody went up there and screwed it up”.

Of course Nehlen had to mention the trees again, still…

Nehlen: Trees // Carlen: Roads

Spatial Angel said:

That may have been the first entertaining spring game ever. The offense is promising. The defense would have won that sucker if it had been awarded points for missed tackles.

Spatial with the blindside hit! Two points!

Mack said:

John Antonik tweeted that Devine made the All-Undrafted team . . . I think I would’ve just kept that one to myself.

“Hey, John, this is Primetime. Why don’t you give me a call when you have a moment…”

Matoose said:

Mike, first post but read & enjoy the blog daily. The comment I sent to the BOG concerns the inadequacy of vending & rest rooms when “pass- outs” are not currently used, as this will now be the norm.

Welcome to the party. Do stick around. Please take off your shoes. They’ll obviously have to add to the concession stands. The question about restrooms has been asked, too. Not only did I receive a “Good question” as part of the reply, but a task force — a task force! — is in place and working on feasibility and logistics for adding to what exists.

Mack said:

Selling beer at the stadium is the most logical thing in the world. It would be one thing if all of the nutjobs were going to the games sober and this would be their first opportunity to drink alcohol at a WVU football game… but the fact is that every single idiot is already getting drunk at the games.

I’m not saying that everyone in the crowd is an idiot, but the guys who throw stuff on the field are . . . and they’re already drunk.

So, at the end of the day, what exactly is the down side of eliminating passouts and selling beer in the stadium because I am completely failing to see it.

… could have saved everyone a lot of time if you said exactly that three weeks ago.

JP said:

I’m voting in favor of mixed drinks at WVU athletic events. I’d love a Hurricane up in my nose bleed seats at the Coliseum.

And an airbag at the bottom of the section.

Jeff in Akron said:

1.2 million in revenue from beer sales for just basketball and football. So, by selling beer at athletic events WVU no longer has to schedule seven homes games to be profitable in football. How much easier is it for Luck to put together the schedule every year?

Let’s play what-if, add the ridiculous amount that WVU paid to UNLV last year and replace that with a home and home from another BCS school, or even Marshall. Now add Luck’s ability to sell that home and home to a major network. Beer sales, potentially, adds a degree of flexibility to scheduling problems.

Take it one step further, should conference realignment rear its ugly head again WVU is in a much better financial position. That makes WVU a much better option to get an offer to join whatever conference comes calling. Look, I’m not saying that WVU should leave the Big East, actually I’m not sure I want to see that at all. I feel much better about the future realizing that should the day come that another raid on the Big East becomes a reality, WVU is the cream of the crop both on and off the field. Add that by strengthening its financial position WVU strenghtens the Big East too.

I don’t know if any or all of these issue are part of Luck’s overall outlook on beer sales. I just get the feeling that the decision goes much deeper than has been discussed. On the financial front, its a no-brainer, welcome to modern day big time college football.

Cart. Horse. But I like you’re thinking. Watch WVU sacrifice that seventh home game and pursue more of these neutral site games, like the BYU matchup in 2016.

SkeikYbuti said:

The concern I would have is how the suspension, even if lifted in August, would affect Wright’s training and conditioning.  I realize that the individual team members monitor themselves in summer workouts, and I suppose Wright could be involved in those (if his teammates will have him) since they’re not officially sanctioned.  But he clearly would have no access to the weight room and other stadium facilities, right?  I guess there are other places to lift, and Jorge might be encouraged (perhaps even as an informal, more-or-less unspoken condition of his reinstatement) to avail himself of those.

You’re right. The suspension is across the board. He’s not to be involved with any activity related to WVU football until the suspension is lifted. I wonder if he can go to the basketball team’s weight room or something like that. Whatever the ban, the rec center is wonderful and, if he loses driving privileges, there are plenty of hills on campus.

Jeff Halladay said:

Jorge Wright’s major is (according to WVU’s site) Criminology & Investigations.
He was caught with pot, a gun & ammo in his car.

Couple of points here. According to their department’s website, for a major in C&I, you have options to take courses such as Juvenile Delinquency, The Criminal Justice System, Deviant Behavior, Police Culture and Socialization, Punishment and Social Control, Sociology of Law and many others. I wonder how many other C&I majors get misdemeanors for drug/weapon offenses after having taken courses like these.

I’m all for ‘innocent until proven guilty’ but drugs & guns in a police report warrant swifter action. The suspension is the right thing to do, but what was gained by him playing in the Gold-Blue game? Five days isn’t that long, but it’s too long to wait with a case like this.

I hope this kid settles in and recovers well. With a school superintendent waiting for him to come home from school, I have a feeling he will.

A healthy amount of irony involved here, huh? But here’s where I play devil’s advocate. Driving whilst smoking a marijuana cigarette (allegedly) is obviously not smart. The charge of “less than 15 grams”  looks a whole lot worse than it really is. Can’t defend the gun charge, though, and unfortunately it makes you wonder what a kid with pot was doing driving around with a gun. That’s the unfair and unavoidable court of public opinion speaking.

hershy112 said:

Obviously, this is a bad situation, especially with drugs involved, but I do commend him for carrying the weapon unloaded. As a person who has and still does own guns, you are taught to unload them in a vehicle. I think even some states require you to carry the ammo and the gun in different parts of the car, i.e. trunk and up front with yourself. In my opinion, he was at least being responsible with the weapon, and I’m sure he isn’t the only person in WV that owns an unlicensed gun.

Fair, though I’m sure unpopular, perspective. This is what pleas are for, I suppose. Maybe it’s just me, but the greater charge is an unspoken one: What was he thinking doing one visibly and plainly illegal thing — and you’d have to imagine that contributed to his traffic stop — while driving around with a gun he knew was not licensed. Just a regrettable scene on multiple levels. And by every available account, he’s a good kid. And good kids have bad days. That’s the part I get.

JP said:

There’s plenty of time between now and August to get these legalities situated. In the grand scheme of things, this is not that big a deal.

First rep, first practice, he’s the guy at nose.

Bill said:

I am still shocked by the idea that he felt the need to have a gun with him in his car. That’s just plain stupidity. It’s Morgantown….not Miami.

The corner of Morgan and Highland would like to speak with you.

Wayne said:

All preseason polls are suspect but anything that gets WVU into the national discussion can only help recruting.

Anyone who ever asked or wondered why Oll Stew was so kind and accommodating to Brian Bennett need not be bewildered any longer.

philip said:

pre-season polls: where wishful thinking congregates with incredulity.

(that said, to borrow a phrase from o. wilde: only one thing worse in life than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.)

Wait, she said that?

Bill said:

Actually, yes, I think its a fair ranking. #14 isn’t exactly top 5. I actually thought that being left out the first time was quite an omission.

You also have to look at this relative to our competition and our schedule. #14 implies that we’ll win at least 9 games and I think that is achievable. Even a loss to LSU isn’t a bad one because they may very well compete for the SEC title, or more.

Look at who else is on our schedule and think about all of the coaching turnover and talent losses within the Big East the past two years. While we have a new system, we have a proven leader of said system in HCIWDH (with a returning HC) and plenty of returning offensive skill positions. I agree the losses on defense will be very hard to overcome, but I believe we’ll be outscoring opponents to win games, like 40-28, rather than grinding out boring wins the last two years.

I like the explanation. We can agree WVU answered a lot of questions in positive ways during the spring. Not everyone thought the product at the end of the spring would be in quite as favorable a position. Even those who hoped it might still had to see it.

NCMountaineer said:

I’m not a guy that’s too big on star ratings from recruiting websites, but this guy was highly thought of for a reason. I really think our former offensive line coach did him an injustice and hindered his development.

You have to figure a lot of these star ratings are based on projections and what the evaluators feel a player’s ceiling is. Hopefully he can recover from this injury and live up to his potential with Coach Bedenbaugh.

This guy, being Josh Jenkins. He has the skill and the talent. I’ve seen that. I’ve also seen struggles putting it all together. I never put much into recruiting rankings and Josh’s went up when Ohio State came calling. I’ll forever wonder what effect his freshman year had on him. His first year was Dave Johnson’s and Johnson plainly told me it’s almost irresponsible to play a true freshman on the line. Yet Jenkins played in a reserve role, though just often enough that his season-ending knee injury came in the game that prevented him from getting a medical redshirt. This is not to say he was hurt because he was young or unprepared — though he wasn’t wearing knee braces and everyone else was — but what if he just didn’t play that year? What if he went through the normal redshirt freshman process and watched and learned? Then suppose he even gets hurt in the same fashion his first season. Is he a better player today? Impossible to answer, but worth considering.

ccteam said:

Jenkins hasn’t been the All American that some thought he would be, but he has been serviceable, and his absence will be felt at least in terms of depleting depth. Now someone from second team will be asked to step up.

Another thing: Really nice kid. Never been trouble. Faces the music, so to speak. Admits fault. Deflects praise. Passionate, to the point of constructively defensive, about his state, program and teammates. You hate to see opportunities taken away from guys like that. Forget how he plays. He’s acting the way he’s supposed to act.

JL said:

I’m looking at an ad in the top right corner of the page imploring me to, “Become a Knitting Superstar! Guaranteed to be Awesome!”

So, my question is, given that this is a sports related page, how did they know that’s what I’ve always dreamed of?

I mean it: This is a fully interactive blog.

Spatial Angel said:

The host of this blog gets a piece of the revenue generated on these pages. Knit him some mittens.

Only half of that is to be taken seriously.

glibglub said:

Other ways that lazy Sunday doesn’t apply to Kevin Jones:
1) He doesn’t love Magnolia cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling.
2) He disagrees that Mr. Pibb plus Red Vines equals crazy delicious.
3) He’s not droppin’ Hamiltons like Aaron Burr.
4) He dislikes those Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia.

Gus Johnson begs to disagree with point No. 3 in your assessment of Kevin Jones from “Money earnin’ Mount Vernon.” Oh, speaking of Gus … WTF?

Sam said:

Do the new sales offset the costs of the new salaries?

Surely the increase in ticket prices is for many reasons, salaries to current and former coaches being high on the list.

Bill said:

RECAP: no football staff was there, except Dale Wolfley. Fun guy. Also there: Danny Buggs and a few other old timers like Tom Pridemore.

Oliver Luck: Really laid back. I was pleasantly surprised. I asked him about Andrew and also about how the community is responding to his idea about serving beer at the stadium. He encouraged me to write a letter in support of that, if I was in favor, but did admit there has been mixed reviews but that is what’s expected. You hear more from people who oppose such things. But he seemed confident it would eventually happen. Told me some old ladies club in Morgantown wrote him a scathing letter -he thought it was funny. He also mentioned his fond memories of the Peach Bowl victory. Luck also cracked a somewhat funny joke about Marshall – I guess our rifle coach is from Scotland and when he spoke he mentioned he has his green card but then when Luck got up there, he said he didn’t like the green card…he should have a blue and gold card.

Huggs: I think its safe to say that the camera really does add 10 pounds. Huggs was in good spirits and was very cool…and every bit as blunt as I expected. Line of the night: after KY beat us this past year, during the post game hand shakes, Cal said something like “its nice to finally beat you” and Huggs said – “I looked down at him and said don’t get used to it”. I asked Huggs about Kevin Jones and he said “he’s not a dumb ass…he knows what the story is..I think he’ll be back at school this year”.

Huggs posed for every single picture and talked to a lot of people. Made a 20 minute speech (attire: slacks and pullover) which was a mix of roasting some of the other coaches there and recounting some good stories. Mentioned his trip to the upper big branch coal mine and said that was one of the more moving experiences of his life. He told us there was incredible amounts of support from those miners and everyone wanted to know about Dasean…if he was okay, etc. Told the story of his ambulance trip after his heart attack (note: Calipari’s cousin, not brother). He closed with a story about how much he loved hearing our fans out cheer the UK fans with all of their big blue nation.

Happy Friday.

Embedded reporter at the Atlanta alumni function! Much appreciated.

pknocker40 said:

Suffice to say Mr. Luck has located my “Holgerogenous” zones…

/Checks watch
Yep, getting late.

philip said:

hence, the big “o.”

Hence.

Jeff in Akron said:

Or in this case, the big “HO”.

I’ll just let you guys finish.

philip said:

well, we are paying for it, aren’t we?

SheikYbuti said:

I’ve never paid for it in my life.

glibglub said:

These comments read like a new literary genre: Holgorotica.

Parks said:

If this is the new literary genre, it causes many Holgorections!

Bill said:

I like the Holgorotica…maybe that should be the name of our new offense. I also still like EER Raid, although, when spoken, it sounds like Ear Ade, some kinky beverage.

JL said:

What better than a kinky beverage to go with your Holgorection?

We done? Enjoy the weekend!