Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which — CHANGE!

Whispers about defensive line depth are swirling around whichever practice field WVU is on for a given day, and while I think it’s a bit of a reach to say the Mountaineers can roll three-deep, I do think parts can be arranged so that they function similarly. And I’m positive WVU looks better there than it has in years and that Erik Slaughter has better cards to play in his second season than he did in his first.

What does that mean? Literal line changes during the course of play.

 This could happen at just about any point of any series in any game, so long as the players stoke Slaughter’s confidence.

There are some restrictions. If a play goes out of bounds on the opponent’s sideline, WVU can’t sub. If the play stops in the middle of the field, WVU can’t sub.

“There’s no way to do it,” Slaughter said. “You couldn’t get off and on the field and lined up in time.”

If a play goes out of bounds on WVU’s sideline, WVU can sub. If there’s an incomplete pass, WVU can sub. If the opponent subs, WVU can sub. If there’s a long gain by the offense, or if a long gain is called back by a penalty, and the pursuit has wiped out the defensive line, WVU can sub.

“They’ll just make eye contact and point and somebody will run in,” Slaughter said. “They’ll know when to go in and when we can sub. But it’s got to be quick.”

That’s what depth looks like and that’s a luxury WVU needs in the Big 12. Will it work? Well, you need three things. The Mountaineers have the bodies. Slaughter has confidence in the plan. They just need competence to make it effective and not destructive.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, know what you want.

(By the way, thanks for all the nice things you said this week. My job isn’t hard, but that sort of stuff makes it easier. And it makes my bosses happy. We’re adding to the audience here and your input, and the way you spread the word, is especially inviting. That has a lot to do with that.)

Mack said:

I was hoping Mike would address the polarizing topic known as Texts from Gameday.

Yeah, that’s not going anywhere. People would be mad as hell if I got rid of it. I was stunned some said they could do without it. Not that there’s something wrong with that, mind you, but that’s the one feature I thought people felt most strongly about. I mean, there are people who compete among a circle of friends to see who gets the most texts into the post. Some hurry to name the song I alter for the intro. Others plan their Monday lunch around it. It’s strong. It’s staying put.

hoot said:

Yo Mike…Chris Neild’s beard wants to know if your ‘stache has a website, or a
twitter site or whatever that thing is.

It doesn’t. I’ve evaded all parodies thus far, probably because much of this is already a lot like a parody.

Carlos Danger said:

Why is coach “k” sitting on the floor in the first picture?

This almost ruined my week. There was a period of several hours where I couldn’t not study this photo. I never saw this guy there. I’ve never seen him before or since … and I’m there a lot. But that’s definitely Early 80s Krizooski. Definitely.

Josh 24601 said:

Memphis! God bless Holgo. May he win enough to stick around and speak filterless for years to come.

And still yet, ECU fans are the angriest over the things Holgorsen said to me about ECU, Pitt, Bowling Green and Memphis. Memphis! I don’t want to brush past the topic, much like I don’t want to spend a lot of time on it, but I don’t have a problem with what he said. The “starving” part was probably a bit much. I think he proposed a neutral-ish game against Pitt at Heinz Field because it’s probably not possible to use the normal allotment of visitor tickets and outdraw Pitt at Pitt. But if you happen to believe in an upcoming FBS split then you happen to believe there are contributing factors, such as schools anchoring down the ship that’s trying to cross the ocean. Not everyone agrees in the eventuality of a split. I think that’s the drive thru version, yes?

PeterB said:

Isn’t that area with the dumpsters, where the team meeting room will be, also the scene of Rich Rod’s escape in December 2007? There’s irony there somewhere.

That did not escape me. Rodriguez fled from a spot where you’ll one day find the sort of thing that could keep Holgorsen in place.

Mack said:

I like that Karl Joseph appears to be “targeting” in the mural.

Solid.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

Good read — I doubt anything we have is the “worst in division 1 football”.

Mike, as you have seen half of the facilities and will see the other half this year in football and all of basketball, where do we rate in terms of facilities what you have seen for both football and men’s basketball?

One thing you have to understand about Big 12 facilities is that these are all either big-time schools with big-time money or places that have sunk money into facilities in recent years. Or both. WVU is behind, especially with regard to football. The basketball practice facility is as good as I’ve seen. WVU has zero to be ashamed of there. The Coliseum has issues that older buildings have, but that’s still a way above-average place that they’re addressing from the inside out. Parking and concourse space could be better. Concessions are just normal. It’s not very viewer friendly. But it’s not bad. The football facilities are lacking. They’re at the bottom of the Big 12. Iowa State has a so-so stadium that reminds me a lot of old Mountaineer Field, but it has a really nice indoor practice facility and a new team center. Kansas has what, I’m told, is the worst stadium, but it’s being addressed and it has a practice facility that opened in 2008 with two practice fields. WVU’s stadium itself is OK, but it’s not getting newer. The practice space is an issue. The fact there’s no convenient fix is a huge problem. The inside of the stadium is bland. The in-game production is better at other sites. The fan experience is pretty weak. There are concession, restroom and concourse issues. And the neighboring hospital is expanding and taking up space. The Puskar Center, in reality, can only take so many renovations, and it needs many to improve meeting space. The team room is, apparently, the new part of the arms race. There’s a lot of work to do, for sure. 

glibglub said:

Coach K is either double-jointed, or he dropped to the floor in searing pain from a dislocation.

Oh, I know! It looks painful. I wondered if it was a Photoshop pulled from an early 80s Duke team photo, in which a far more limber K was seated in the front row. Or something.

smeer said:

thanks Mike – great to get your scouting report since Mickey refuses to miss his dinner.

Interested on your take of the O line once pads get on. Obviously bigger specimens and depth than in year’s past. do you think this team – on O – has a chance to surprise if the O line gels?

I’ll start at the end: I don’t think they’re any bigger than normal. You might see that start in the next year or so because they’re recruiting taller players and they’ll need to add to their frames. Right now, nothing overly unusual, apart from Spain and 6-foot-9, 325-pound Mike Callichio, who, by the way, is repping with the second team at left tackle. The fate of the offense rests with the decision about the starting quarterback, though. And I’ll end with the start: Someone emailed me the text of that story — no link because that would give the website an extra hit, I guess — and I honestly thought it was a parody. Whoops.

gordo said:

A little thin in the secondary aren’t we? Wonder if moving Vernon Davis was such a good idea? Where’s Terrell Chestnut? After B. Jenkins and Bell, who else is there that can contribute?

Davis moved. Nana popped. Rick(y) Rumph is a safety. Remember when Dana said they didn’t recruit any cornerbacks because they were maxed out with scholarships? It’s no less than  major worry now. Best wishes to Bro Jenkins, Travis Bell, Ish Banks (who for all we know is a day away from being a safety again), Avery Williams, Chestnut, Brandon Napoleon and Daryl Worley (who was recruited as a safety).  I don’t know, after his cameo in the facilities tour, might we consider Nana Twum Agyire?

Coach Taylor said:

At some point a leader has to separate himself and the Coach has to everything he can to bring the confidence out of that leader. Like this…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIRJdECADN8

And 4:12 later, I’m back …

Mack said:

In case this season goes badly, I want to be the first one to say in a mellow and hushed tone:

DANA HOLGORSEN CAN ONLY WIN WITH BILL STEWART’S PLAYERS!!!!!!!!

Very mellow. Very hushed.

NotFooled said:

Thanks for answering that question. But in this post you have created another question in my mind…What exactly is the “Hot Adult Contemporary” radio format? I’d google it, but don’t want the porn police to come after me…

Beats the Ne-Yo out of me. Needless to say, there’s a lot to learn about Fantasia Broadcasting. A lot …

SheikYbuti said:

Jared posits that the new deal with IMG means at least an additional $1 million annually, but, IIRC, one of WVRC’s arguments is that WVU was benefiting by not having to pay certain expenses associated with the broadcast productions (i.e., WVRC provided more of a turnkey operation). I don’t remember whether those expenses were alleged to be anywhere close to $1 million/year, but it doesn’t look to me as though the article accounts for them.

In any event, as you say, it’s not all about money; clearly, IMG appears to be the better overall deal for WVU.

I don’t want to go down that road again, honestly, because that side of the fence is going to ignore certain logic. Jared mentioned it, though. For ease of consumption, consider total costs for WVU’s in-house operation — salaries, production costs, printings costs, the whole thing — to be somewhere in the $400,000-500,000 range. But don’t forget WVU isn’t paying that now. So it’s basically profiting in that sense. 

hoot said:

Let’s play “what if” for a moment.
What if: a judge would be foolish enough to grant Big John’s request and nix the
IMG deal? That would theoretically leave WVU with no radio coverage at
all. I would not want to be in Big John’s expensive loafers, running
from thousands of angry Mountaineer fans (armed, of course)…
although the imagery does give me the giggles. Clearly, Mr.
Hissy Fit did not think this through rationally.

Are we naive enough to think Team Raese is out of bullets? I suspect there’s another haymaker and I don’t think the state attorney general is through on his end. So, in short, I don’t think it’s smart to say a judge would be “foolish” without knowing what may still come. The injunction could very well throw games back to WVRC. 

JPWVURFL said:

You’re right, hoot. Raese and Co. did not think it through.

The “what if” is extremely unlikely. WVU could counter that with several points. One very legitimate argument is that the contract with WVRC expired and was not broken…just not renewed. Another argument would be that damages to WVU from halting this deal would be sought from WVRC by WVU. Also, the bid can be tailored however WVU wants. This is business and WVRC should know that. It’s a change from the past several decades and there was a loser, though I bet there could have been some deals between IMG and WVRC for coverage. I think we can all logically assume which side decided not to do business with the other.

Just think, this time next year we won’t we even talking about this off-field stuff and rather about our upcoming game against Alabama.

Fair points, and there may one day be a countersuit to seek damages. The whole thing is weird in its own ways. You can read the second RFP in a way that would lead you to believe the Tier 3 football game — or, in more common terms, the season opener — isn’t guaranteed to be on in Morgantown. If you have a satellite dish and don’t get WVMH’s television station(s), you might be in the dark.

oz said:

Mike
When Holgerson said that he did not want to expand on the lack of leadership from last year and how there were numerous examples of it…..
I cant help but think back to what you said earlier about comparing last years team to 2005 with all the expectations and finding out years later that a lot of ego let to the demise of the team. It would not surprise me if we find out something similar was happening with last years team….something for the waiting for the fall, edition II.

Well, this came up last season and I had to say I never saw it or heard it last season, but, again, you’d be surprised how far away they keep us. The one time I was getting hints of disarray was that week before the Oklahoma State game, which was right around the time Travares Copeland and Ivan McCartney quit. WVU played fairly well that day. I do think and I thought then there was a prevalent frustration with the defense and that no one stood up to it. I do think and thought then that WVU was cooked before the bowl game and no one stood up to that. I think those are the things Holgorsen wants to make use of this season.

ffejbboc said:

Who else is in the hopper with Caridi to be part of the IMG broadcast team? I’m talking radio and tv, coaches shows, etc.

Jed Drenning? Geoff Coyle? Amanda Mazey?

Anybody else from WVRC making the move, i.e. Dwight Wallace? Jay Jacobs?

Good questions and I think we have to consider different answers now than before. Previously, I think many may have thought that there would be some exclusivity promised by an IMG employee. With Caridi’s arrangement, that’s maybe not the case. I’m pretty sure Coyle will continue at WVi, but they’re already short one person for that operation because Scott Grayson left. Coyle’s adroit, I think, but he’s also one person. It’s not a one-person job. Wallace and Jacobs, I don’t know. Drenning, I don’t know because I don’t know if they’ll have a sideline guy. Ms. Mazey, I don’t see why she couldn’t continue what she’s doing, but she’s a mom with kids and she couldn’t even get to baseball road trips because of things the kids do because they’re kids, like plays and practices and recitals the the like. I doubt she wants to move away from that.

(Aside: You think the IMG station in Morgantown will want to capitalize on its flagship status by having a signature sports talk show? Probably. Perhaps IMG will have a regular sports talk show on all its affiliates. In some way, one, some or all of these stations will seek to capitalize on their connection to IMG. Can’t have Caridi, though. That arrangement still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but it’s not a permanent impediment to a new show popping up. Still, I think your analyst positions are, with apologies, largely replaceable. But a guy like Caridi is not. He’s not just a play-by-play guy or a host or someone who fits in a specific canister. He’s a name and that name lends itself to many canisters. And he’s not available to the IMG affiliates for a specific talk show because he’s still doing Sportsline. Is that not weird? I’ll hangup and listen.) 

Josh24601 said:

“The best exhibition player West Virginia has ever seen.”

/dead of mirth

Felt good when it left my hands. Lips. Whatever.

tls62pa said:

Battle Royale, I’m going to go with one of our specialists. While the rest of the team is taking each other out, nobody thinks to do anything with them because they’re, well, specialists. In the end, it is a big mistake, with O’Toole standing at 6’5 220 and Syvertson at 6’2 220, one of these guys makes the knock out blow after the rest of the team has eliminated each other.

I thought long and hard about O’Toole’s superkick and dudes flying over the top rope. Or what if John DePalma long-snapped Jacky Marcellus into Will Clarke? Mike Molinari holds Doug Rig in place and Josh Lambert boots him out? I might need a re-do.

Karl said:

On paper, you’d have to call Quinton Spain the favorite of the battle royal. He might throw out the first 15 people, but then like Andre, the Big Show, Kane and the other big men, the rest of the group would gang up and get him out. I like Ivan McCartney to win it, though. He would get tossed out beneath the top rope somewhere along the way and hide beneath the ring until only Karl Joseph and Cody Clay were left. Then he sneaks back in, blindsides them and dumps them over the top for the cheap win as the crowd boos like crazy.

Never doubt a McCartney comeback.

Mack said:

Mike’s battle royals lacked a double cross… Otherwise, it was spot on.

“Good god! That’s Tavita Finau (from parts unknown’s) music!!!!!!!”

… and the music plays for, like, 52 minutes and no one ever appears.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

Mike, the Battle Royale play by play is missing a critical part…….Vernon Davis, lately from the Offense, is actually a plant — does a heel turn on Squirt and pummels him from behind just as he is about to get the best of Karl Joseph.

Joseph and Davis work the Squirt over, throw him out of the ring and, as Davis turns around to do a high 5 with Joseph, he gets speared by Joseph suplexed over the top rope!!!

Joseph is your winner — just then another referee runs in from the back, throws a flag for targeting, and Joseph is disqualified for the remainder of the match and the first half of next week’s show…..

Or is this an upcoming football game this fall?

Damn, solid point about Davis. I knew that position change looked weird. Now it makes sense. But you don’t think Thompson skins the cat, surprises Joseph and Davis and throws them over the top? Like this?

pknocker40 said:

“Dana Holgorsen said WVU would wait until school started to add kickers. I think you can arrive at your own conclusion here.”

Conclusion being Dana’s intramural kickball team is totally stacked this year.

Enjoy the weekend!