Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which will give Ivan McCartney credit for one thing: That guy always wins the press conference.

He spoke to us today, surprisingly, I would say, for the first time since leaving and later returning to the team. And he was again who and what he had been before, which is to say he was thoughtful and interesting and that he represented himself very well, which is saying something for someone in his situation. There were a lot of unknowns he sought to answer. He spoke about a situation with his grandfather that compromised his focus and eventually drew him home. Now he’s back and ready to play again and like he never he has before.

I’ll prepare you for the assured onslaught of feel-good pieces about contrition and inspiration and words like “hunger” and “desire,” because they’re coming. All of them. You’ve heard and read the story before, and McCartney’s version makes is sound and look quite good, but the fact is he’s got a long way to go until he’s in a position to back up his words. Today, I guess, was a good day because he crossed “Explain myself” off the list and it’s one fewer thing for him and his coaches to worry about as things progress. Realistically, it means little as practices matter much more, and even then he has to sustain it as long as, and probably even longer than, everyone else.

He has talent, without question, but he’s running out of time.

The only other players who weren’t available to us today were, as expected, newly arrived Clint Trickett and Charles Sims, but also dog house’d Jordan Thompson. So that prohibition will exist in perpetuity or until Thompson has a 100-yard and/or two-touchdown game. In a win. I bet.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, do the right thing.

JC said:

Defending tempo may not be as much about scheme or play calling as it is about speed, conditioning, and depth. The days of the 300lbs nose tackles and 260lbs linebackers may be coming to an end, reverting back to smaller, faster, and more technically skilled players. I think this will ultimately even the playing field that much more. The stud defensive lineman weighing 280+, linebackers running 4.5 40′s weighing 250+ are much harder to come by than guys weighing 230.

Conditioning has already changed in many programs. Endurance is just as important as enhancement, and depending on who you play, it can me more important. Law School Hill will get even more use in the coming years…….

And depth. Depth is THE biggest key to defensing tempo. Even with less opportunity for subs, having multiple players at each position, ready to go, is more important than it’s ever been. LSU has been doing this for years on the d-line, even before the spread and tempo made it’s way onto their schedule. And don’t be surprised if the NCAA legislates some sort of obligatory player substitution allowance, similar to what the NFL has.

That was a pretty interesting point by Mack Brown — you need a second-string defense to roll in when needed. That’s just so hard, though, because offensive coordinators will find ways to feast on a green cornerback or defensive end. I think there’s a way to scheme it, but I’m not sure if it’s scheme or personnel. That hybrid safety/linebacker and a way to play 4-2-5 or 4-3-4 interchangeably is valuable. I wonder, though, if teams can fish for a DE/OLB/S. That would solve lots of problems, and I don’t think it’s outrageous. Remember John Holmes? I also found Gary Patterson’s take to be the most useful, though. Defenses need to act like the offense, which means practicing fast and getting used to that pace, but they also have to call plays like offenses and build in checks and audibles. You need a very veteran defense that can spot, act and communicate fast, but if you have it, it’s fire vs. fire.

Jamie in Nitro said:

I think we’ll see more defenses like the 3-3-5 to combat the up-tempo offenses. The reason offenses go up-tempo, even RichRod’s version, was to tire out the defense. When the defense isn’t allowed to substitute players, they start playing at less than 100% every single play. Once more “gimmick” defenses start recruiting for that style of play (i.e. smaller, faster players) we’ll see offenses go back to pounding the ball.

Mike Leach obviously didn’t like to run the ball, but he’d do cartwheels when a team took from the front and added to the secondary because he’d gash defenses with the run. I used to think Casteel’s 3-3-5 would have been good in the Big 12. I don’t think that now.  

Mack said:

The tempo game is just like anything else. When it works, the coach looks like a genius and when it doesn’t, he looks like an idiot.

WVU fans COMPLAIN about the faster tempo of Holgorsen’s (and formerly RichRod’s) offense just as much as they praise it. Why? Because when the defense has good players and stops it, then it fatigues your own defense and causes those problems.

I think the faster tempo gives a team like Oregon a chance against a team like Alabama… but it can also hurt your team in other games. If you have the best players (like the SEC teams) then you should run a straight up, “no frills” offense (like SEC teams do). If you have players that aren’t quite as good, then you need a gimmick, like the option or a faster tempo. If you have Jeff Mullen, you try to run straight up plays against a team that knows what you’re doing even if you don’t have players capable of executing.

Yeah, if you’re in a hurry to punt or turn the ball over, you’re going to get boos. The teams that are really effective with tempo use calculated plays that are more likely than not to have success, like staple running plays and short passes. If WVU has a long gain, whether run or pass, the offense hurries to the next play and almost always runs the ball the next play. That’s a fact, but it’s also true that a handoff is a low-risk play that can happen quickly and prevent the defense from subbing. The linemen and receivers are likely to catch defenders out of position to set blocks and add another long play. As for the SEC, more and more teams play with pace now. Ole Miss and Texas A&M are fast (so is Missouri, but that gets an asterisk). They hired coaches before last season. Tennessee liked pace and Butch Jones will keep that going. Mark Stoops will have Kentucky going fast and Gus Malzahn will have Auburn going fast. They’re new hires. That’s a trend to compete and to contend in that league.

rekterx said:

Put me down as a charter member of the First Season With A Full Runway Is The 2013 Season Club.

Good, because we’ve started looking for meeting space. I decided to pose this scenario to Dana, and of course he didn’t want to hear it. But while he didn’t necessarily agree with the “Year 3 = Year 1” thing, he did agree that he doesn’t have the impediments in front of him or the reasons to look over his shoulder this year like he did in the past. That’s part of a story we’l run in Monday’s newspaper.

Jeff in Akron said:

To me, this season is as close to a free pass as a coach can hope to get going into a season, so I say season one too. With that said, the maturing process probably ends when this season begins. Season four will have all the expectations a fourth year coach warrants. With that said, I have a hunch that the proverbial free pass lasts in week one this year and is never heard from again.

If Holgorsen and his team get embarrassed in Norman in week two it gets ugly, fast! If they win, those elevated “expectations” rear their ugly head again.

That free pass will go fast, guaranteed. And there will be noise if this team misses a bowl or if the attendance sags below an already alarmingly low level, as far as season ticket sales go. You can’t stand in place when you’re building something. “Results matter.” It has to get better and if it isn’t, nothing is free. That said, there’s some understanding built in because there are some things, like graduations, Dana can’t control. But coaching transitions are his own doing. The offense is his creation. The new players are his recruits. The conference isn’t new-new anymore. I don’t think there’s as much patience as many believe there to be. But that’s what makes this year so appealing.

NotFooled:

Can it be year 1.5? Definitely not 3 – his first year should have been last year and joining the Big 12 was a wake up call (I don’t think for DH, but for us fans)… As other’s posted, Holgs screwed the pooch having eForest as DC, but I think that will turn into special teams gold – eForest’s true talent…

Fair. Also, if special teams click, can we restore DeForest’s “D,” or can we call him/it Special D? Or Special D-livery? I feel like he should be able to earn back some privileges.

ccteam said:

In my mind it is year 2. I give him the first year because he wasn’t expecting to be coach and ended up with a defensive staff that wasn’t really his to choose. Last year looked a lot like a year 1 with a new staff on defense and some times when he seemed to let emotions get away from him in a couple of game situations. Too many chances on 4th down (although I see that as more of a personality disposition), and the emotional breakdown after a long td run was called back in the bowl game that could have put WV back in that game.

That’s fine, too, though I think last year lined up more issues than 2011 did. My point was this year is more like a first year than a third year. I should have incorporated a third tier there.

Letgomtnrs said:

No argument the bad assistant hires is squarely on his shoulders. However I have read it’s pretty common for first time head coaches to make bad hires. And he did make changes after it was obvious where the mistakes were. Heck he made pseudo changes mid year. So that’s certainly a plus.

If (heaven forbid) they struggle against W&M or the OU game gets ugly then I hope we see improvement as the season goes along. Something we certainly didn’t see last year. If we don’t see that I might have to start to question if he can be an effective head coach.

Phil. Elmassian. 

Actually, I owe this a little more. Let’s examine those first two games. I bet you the opener is going to be sloppy and choppy and almost because there is no other way. Lots of new players and nerves. Lots. And WVU will try to be bland because of the extremely unusual conference opener a week later. But about that game: How scared are you of Oklahoma? In week two? I just wonder if people are applying a legacy to Oklahoma or if they realize the Sooners have issues and, you know, can lose.

Karl said:

I’ve touched on this before: This is a year when we’ll learn a lot about whether Dana Holgorsen has the makings of a successful FBS head coach and program CEO, or whether he’s just a very talented offensive coordinator. Although I’m not of the mind that he should or will get fired over a bad season, I’m also not on board with the “year 1″ outlook.

As Mike said, come year three, you’re seeing what the coach’s seeds have sown. The defensive debacle and the loss of so many staff members are a direct result of his hiring philosophy. Clearly, he didn’t give adequate thought to his vision for the defense or the type of personnel who should run it. The main qualification seemed to be that they were old friends from previous coaching stops. Holgorsen was successful in year one when he let Casteel do his own thing and he didn’t need to bother with the defense. I believe he wanted that dynamic again last year, but hired a staff that was not up to the task. All of the weird preseason talk about how they were only out to minimize big plays and didn’t care about giving up lots of touchdowns confirmed all of this. And maybe so did his bungled attempt to hire a low-level assistant on Rex Ryan’s staff as his DC.

As a side, almost none of Holgorsen’s staff had any roots in this region. It’s no surprise that they would be willing to leave here the first time they had a decent offer — again, another byproduct of his hiring philosophy. I am heartened to see that he appears to have learned something from that, though. His willingness to hire guys like Krook and Seider and school them in his offense is a calculated risk that could pay dividends. Big picture, if we’re going to win in the Big 12, we won’t do it by trying to out-Texas Texas on the recruiting trail. We need to get the best players from this region and beat them with the hard-nosed football this region is known for.

A series of god points here, especially with the defensive decisions, and I think that created a harmful mentality last year … but that’s in the past. As for the coaches leaving, no, they didn’t have ties here, but they were hired away by Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas A&M. I’d have to think if Michigan wanted Ron Crook and Miami wanted JaJuan Seider, they might uproot. The premise here is something we need to stick in our pocket: We can hot potato Year 3 and Year 1, but this is definitely the season Holgorsen reveals his true identity. 

overtheSEC said:

And NOW I’m finally excited for football season. Kinda crazy you got Tony Stark to fill in for you, Mike. Think we could get #casazzastache to trend?

Oh, man. The “I’m repeatedly told I look like Robert Downey, Jr.” thing is the highlight of the summer. What started as, “Eh, I’m just going to let myself go this summer,” is showing no signs of stopping. 

I love you, Doug! said:

Good move ditching the tie. Made you look like you were filing the vlog from Initech.

Yyyeaahhhh…

Bobby Heenan said:

Maybe I’m a pessimist… and I’m confident I don’t know the kids or situation as well as you do….

But, I thought it was a bigger possibility that either Buie or Garrison transferred at the end of the fall when/if either of them find themselves fourth on the depth chart. For instance, assuming Garrison isn’t playing any spot duty in the slot – How much PT and carries is there to go around if you’re behind Sims, Smith, and Buie? Next year you could potentially swap Shell for Sims and you’re in the same situation. If Alford makes it and Marcellus and Gibson live up to hype, there’s not a ton of slot duty there either.

It’s a situation to monitor, but I can’t see either of them leaving. Just my POV.

smeer said:

Mike – that long awkward un-moving pause was the best – thought my internet had hung up.

Thanks? You’re welcome? Not sure what to say, but I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wonder if YouTube will rival my rivalry with wireless internet.

Letgomtnrs said:

Roy Jones Jr is a rapper too??!! Who knew?

He is. Seriously. And he’s invested, too.

overtheSEC said:

I guess Dana isn’t a T.I. fan http://cdn.straightfromthea.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/ti-jeezy-martin-luda.jpg

Yes!

JC said:

Ah….the first standpoint of the year! Over/under 400 standpoints this season?

… um, let’s track this. I say under, but it’ll be close.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

I’d rather hear Holgs’ standpoint then Rich Rod’s “Things of that nature.”

Irregardless of the outcome, this is a great debate.

ffejbboc said:

Guess he’s not allowed to discuss Rushel Shell until classes start?

He’s got to be enrolled with a signed grant-in-aide first, and there’s no rush to do that since he can’t play this season.

Mack said:

I don’t really understand how a player doesn’t arrive until classes start. Even if you were a TRUE walk-on… it seems like you’d show up when practice starts. I mean, band members even show up then, right?

They can’t eat team meals or really enjoy any of the other benefits of a scholarship player, so why waste time and money? Realistically, none of those guys are going to play this season. They’d be in the way right now.

rekterx said:

“But it’s fair,” Holgorsen said. “If you’re not one of the big boys, don’t hold the big boys back from being able to make their program better. Why should Marshall be fighting for the same prize as West Virginia? Let’s be honest.”

I. AM. LAUGHING! AND. SMILING!

I was afraid Marshall people would lose their minds over this — not sure if they have, which says something, but Pitt and ECU fans are berserk — but Dana didn’t single out Marshall. This was part of a pretty broad conversation and Marshall had been mentioned earlier … about scheduling, I believe. I think it was just on the tip of his tongue and that it fit with the ECU v. UNC comparison. And it makes sense. Sorry.

Mack said:

The ECU fans’ comments to your story are pretty funny. They beat us once in Greenville when Bill Stewart was coaching (and, to be fair, they beat us once in 1999 when Don Nehlen was at the helm), so they’re indignant. Congrats ECU. You accomplished something that almost everyone except Marshall has done.

Never mind the, what, 13 or so WVU wins over ECU, three BCS bowl wins, and almost a dozen conference titles in a conference better than ECU’s during that same time frame? (Did ECU ever win CUSA?)

Sounds like we’re getting closer to football season.

I knew it would get people talking. I imagine Dana did, too. That Pitt thing? No coincidence, to me, that WVU gets Penn State and Virginia Tech done and is dancing with Pitt without a deal. That Heinz Field jab added a little juice, no? Also, never read the comments. Ever. I haven’t, but I’ve heard ECU people are correcting me and saying WVU and ECU have a contract. True, but I have no reason to believe WVU is interested in honoring it and would rather restructure it. And to be frank, ECU can take it or lose it.

rekterx said:

Don Nehlen has all but named Clint Trickett the starter.

“We ‘ll be better than people think,” he said. “What has happened the last month or so, the running back position has been strengthened a lot with (former Houston player) Charles Sims coming. And the (Clint) Trickett kid, I saw him play a couple games (when he was a quarterback at Florida State) on TV, and it looked like he had a lot of poise.”

http://westvirginia.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=33&tid=165303487&mid=165303487&sid=891&style=2
Scroll down to about the 7th poster.

Well, thank God.

Spatial Angel said:

3 new O-line starters+1 new O-line coach+a 180 lb QB. You do the math.

Probably not a bad thing to have three QBs, right?

Drew said:

Mike, you made a cameo in WVi’s video of Landau Eugene…I mean Kevin White’s player interview.

Enjoy the weekend!