Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which found the mysterious missing quarterback. Geno Smith showed up shortly after the media left Thursday and went through the rest of the day’s practice. I’m told he had a school thing to deal with and it held him up for an hour or so. Whatever. We’re grasping at stories now, but spring practice is nearly over and, really, very little has happened.

Not a lot of movement on the depth chart. Most of the “movement” is actually setting order at positions. I think some stuff is experimental (defensive line) or temporary (cornerbacks) and at some places the deck will be shuffled in preseason camp (receiver).

Only two injuries, too, and you usually see a whole lot more red in the spring than this. Ryan Clarke is slowed by a walking boot and a lower extremity injury, but it’s perhaps fortuitous because Donovan Miles gets more action. Ivan McCartney has apparently been very good this week since returning from injury. Everything else is geared toward simply installing the defense and mastering situations on offense. I guess it beats the alternative, which you saw last year.

I now have my eyes on the spring game and, specifically, the crowd. WVU wants 30,000, but I really have to wonder. It seems to me, in talking to so many of the people I’ve met in the past few weeks, in answering email and Tweets, in trying to run this blog, there are a lot of unknowns and a lot of questions about this team this spring.

Honestly, there just hasn’t been a lot of information let or put out there and the general point of the spring game has been downplayed so much —  “It’s just a practice.” — that it all might conspire to discourage. It doesn’t seem like the sort of curiosity that will inspire a big crowd, but timing is everything, right? And WVU rolled out a royal red carpet this week and got a lot of valuable exposure and probably generated some excitement about next Saturday.

Speaking of, show of hands: Who’s going to the spring game?  Why or why not? Maybe I’ll clean out my garage and invite everyone over for some sweet tea. Maybe I have a mini-book tour to pull off that morning and night.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, keep it clean.

Jeff in Akron said:

Off topic. if a person wanted to listen to a WVU sports talk radio station during morning drive, or any other time, what station would someone that lived in WV set there radio dial to?

No such program or platform exists. No, seriously.

hershy112 said:

Here’s to hoping we have another Bruuuuuuce.

That’d be Isaiah Bruce and he’s going to have a chance, if for no other reason than necessity. On the other Bruce, remember his steadfast Twitter denials he vandalized a Jimmy Johns? Turns out he was right: Twas Pita Pit. Allegedly.

Dave said:

I am all for competition and a bit of jaw-slapping, but I really hope they don’t become a team where all they do is gyrate and talk smack.

Like that 2004 team? It was undone by its chemistry problems, but, man, was that a talented team. Seems to me WVU through the years has had a hard time figuring out when to be a little perky and when to be humble. Stewart’s 2009 team was way too subdued and that had to change. He said as much before the 2010 season, and, man, didn’t that team have some discipline problems. I’m sure there are other examples. If only I could think of one …

pknocker40 said:

Why gyrate and smack talk when you can let a Yankees hat do the work for you?

Ah, that’s right. Thanks for picking me up.

Stephan Beatty said:

“saw the media see…” Seriously? Your writing’s generally not bad, but this lead wouldn’t make it in an undergraduate j-school class.

Hmm, I thought it was generally pretty good.

glibglub said:

¿Que es mas hackneyed? “Seriously?” o “Really?”

Ambos. ¿Estoy inequivicado?

pknocker40 said:

Seriously Mike, it’s all laid out perfectly clear in the MLA Blogger’s Handbook. You’ll undoubtedly be the laughingstock of the Pulitzer Committee…

I know, I know. More focused on the Morehouse Award. This was my Gretzky ’82 year.

Seol Man said:

You’re all missing the point: Bob Hertzel — prep football defensive mauler!

Most certainly did not miss that. And he held the respect of his peers in his hands!

I love you, Doug:

Darwin Cook on trash-talking to his teammates during practice: “I get in their feelings. I get in their heart. I know where they’re from.”

Big news on Darwin: He’s seized the “Last Guy Into Interviews” Conch. Shrewd move. He’s alone with all the cameras and writers and microphones and cameras and microphones . He knows the score.

Drew said:

I’m afraid this year’s defense is going to fit right in with the rest of the BIG XII.

The situation at offensive line is pretty reassuring with Jenkins back and seeing how much that unit improved last year.

Mike, how much do you think the current state of the roster had to do with the decision to go 3-4 instead of 4-3?

Don’t think it had as much to do with the roster as it did the head coach and what he wanted. He knows odd fronts and attacking schemes from the Big 12 and he knew guys who could institute it. Probably doesn’t hurt that the roster fits nicely enough. Your concern about the defense falling in line is noted. It’s an offensive league with a lot of talent on that side of the ball. But if WVU’s talent is good and the line is improved …

DanaHolgorsen’sPreCirrhoticLiver said:

What if we get ahead early and teams start throwing deep?

Think that might happen?

JP said:

So Dana has more time to entertain national media bloggers much to the discontent of the local press crew?

Just to be clear, it wasn’t me. But I do, to a degree, understand the discontent. We’re here every day and we don’t get the same privileges because we’re not ESPN? But many of the people who cover the team, or purport to cover the team, hold ESPN in a high regard. Hard for those people to then look down at WVU holding ESPN in a higher regard than the local guys. If you’re local and you could give a damn about ESPN, or whatever national outlet, and then you get bent out of shape, well, it’s a different story.

Wayne said:

Ah but the mothership can give a program exposure, recruiting help, television games, et al. So when the mouse roars ……

… not entirely clear here, but are we talking about “The Mouse That Roared?” Because, first, that would be awesome. Second, I’ll definitely be Duchy of Grand Fenwick to that analogy. Or is the mouse ESPN, a Disney property, with Mickey Mouse as it’s animal personality, and it’s roaring to drown out guys like me? Because I’ll fight that one. I’ll hang up and listen.

David Ubben said:

You have a story about Ryan Clarke? Did you see my scoop where he hurt his ankle. Did you have that? Oh, you didn’t? That must be because you weren’t allowed to watch the entire practice and I was, just because I work for ESPN and I have a blog

Well, this got out of control, didn’t it? He was nice to the school and the town on his first trip. Wasn’t anything we’d never seen, but he was working more for the Big 12 audience than for WVU’s. And what was WVU supposed to do? Not accommodate the guy? Isn’t the “Statewide Sportsline” kind of supposed to do the show with a mic in one hand and pom-poms in the other? It’s Morgantown. It is what it is. And since he’s new to these parts and certainly reading right now, Mr. Ubben, the real one, I don’t censor comments. And I hope that Clarke note doesn’t blow back on us.

SheikYbuti said:

Mike, you don’t need to post anonymously on your own blog. You can just shoot straight with us. It’ll be our little secret.

Fine, fine. I’ll take the bait and I’ll maybe let the guy off the hook. From what I gather, he set up the “let me watch practice thing” in advance and he kind of knew Dana from the Big 12. And I don’t want to be egotistical, but I’m fairly confident if I called Mr. Holgorsen — not today, but well in advance — and said I was working on something and asked if I could watch practice, he’d accommodate in some form. I probably think the same would be true for some others. I’m guessing I’d be allowed to watch certain periods and would have to leave at a certain time. I’m also sure I’d be asked not to do or write certain things, too. I wouldn’t be allowed to write injuries, but “Tavon is real good, guys” wouldn’t be prohibited. Here’s the thing, though, and here’s why I don’t get too down about this: I don’t want to cover spring practices. Fall practices? Much more newsworthy. I don’t think anyone is getting in there.

Jeff in Akron said:

A few seasons ago Mike had a post about offensive line starts from the Wall Street Journal. The article basically stated that any college football team that returned a minimum of 65 starts along the offensive line indicated an excellent opportunity for success. If memory serves, with Jenkins back, WVU returns around 100 starts along the offensive line.

Jenkins injury last year, added to the fact that WVU has played with a young offensive line the past 2/3 years is now a strength. With Bedenbaugh in his second year…

I know it is still the spring, but I haven’t been this sure of an offense’s ability at WVU since the spring of 1988. As a fan, you just knew there were great things on the way. Defense was a question mark that year too, since the defense had to go against the offense in practice things worked out fairly well, at least in the regular season.

This is true: Offensive line success can predict success. Seems like a sound theory. I count 99 starts and that doesn’t include Curtis Feigt, who is a backup and has one start at right tackle. Just have to hope they’re older and better, as opposed to just older. By the way, people can’t stop with unsolicited praise about Jeff Braun.

Dave Johnson said:

Mike,
That isn’t a limp you see from Josh. That’s just swag.

Enjoy the weekend!