Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which is [redacted] today even though we [redacted] a [redacted] on [redacted] and must [redacted] for [redacted] to [redacted] [redacted].

Yesterday was a tidy encapsulation of this entire season. Dana Holgorsen has multiple problems at quarterback and we don’t know who or what to believe. I understand there’s a need for privacy, maybe even secrecy. Coaches work extremely hard to create and protect advantages and there’s an aggressive reluctance to let things go that don’t have to be let go. Obviously, the health of the quarterback is a critical issue to monitor and protect and there’s a competitive element to all of that.

But there’s a difference between silence and deception and there’s some slight of tongue that’s unsettling. I don’t know if you care, and I’m not sure I care if you care, but in my line of work deceit is prohibitive. Don’t get me wrong: I admire the way Dana has conducted himself this season. I can only speak for myself, but I never walk away wanting for more. I get along with the assistants and think they’re pretty good about telling me things. And I know my boundaries. I just happen to think you need to know who’s playing in the game you’re covering, and Dana would seem to agree because the one concession he allows to his steel trap privacy policy on injuries is to say when someone is out. Everyone is day-to-day unless he’s out.

We’ve all been suspicious about this torn pec for a while, and I know I’m not the only one who’s been asking around about this. But I was really suspicious about how healthy Ford Childress was for this week based on things I was told over the weekend. In retrospect, Holgorsen let something slip Tuesday that we should have jumped on, but he also only said Childress had to get better, which is not the same as healthy. That night, Shannon Dawson was pressed about things and juked us. I heard Tuesday night only that Childress had a “setback” last week and that it wasn’t serious and nothing had changed from before — that being when Holgorsen said the pec wasn’t torn from the bone, didn’t need surgery and required only time to heal. That was reiterated from different people Thursday, who told me there would be no surgery and that Childress wasn’t ruled out for the season.

I’ll go ahead and add “yet” to all of that because if you have to believe anything you can believe WVU is protecting this as much and for as long as possible. Based on what Holgorsen said last night, WVU has known for a week now that Childress is in bad shape and is due for time on the shelf and not time on the field. I want to believe Childress doesn’t need surgery and could conceivably need more time, but I also think he could dress for the game tomorrow and the next five Saturdays because what if something happens and Trickett and Millard are hurt — and don’t pretend that with the way things are going this season that it couldn’t happen. Unlikely? Sure. Impossible? Notuh. It’s two plays away, and given that we can’t be sure about anything related to Trickett’s shoulder, it’s not exactly two hard-to-attain plays away. What if you find yourself in a spot that needs a quarterback for a quick fix? There’s a difference, believe it or not, between a lame Childress and a healthy … who the hell is Greg McPherson? Sheezus, would it be Logan Moore? He’s not even listed as a quarterback.

Don’t be surprised if Childress doesn’t play again this season and don’t be surprised  if he gets cut on in January, and then probably misses spring football.

And with that, I’m done. Two things can make you feel better.

Here’s an actual email I got this afternoon.

Oh, that didn’t help? Well, here are other shenanigans that happen at my office just about every day.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be creative.

Rugger said:

Ollie has no buy out. Do most AD’s have a buyout?

Mr. Luck does not. Some do. It’s not unprecedented and, obviously, I think it’s smart. Here’s why: Oliver would have agreed to it because though his exit would sting, it would nevertheless benefit WVU in a financial sense. WVU could then use that money to, I don’t know, fund a search committee. Pay the successor. Cover a buyout for an AD at another school. Rob Mullens, for example, has a buyout.

Shoot4Show said:

Let’s set aside our old gold (yellow?) and blue — and black as some are inclined to wear — and look at the open UT AD position through burnt orange glasses. If you have one of the most storied, lucrative, and recognizable programs in the country, you likely command attention from the uppermost upper echelon of candidates for AD. While Luck was an extremely attractive candidate for WVU, is he held in such high esteem in Austin?

We can all agree his record as AD isn’t exactly unblemished. Take the media rights fiasco. It was a big deal… in WV. If that happens at TX, it’s a big deal across the country. It’s a story in SI and on Sports Center, and it is continually referenced as an example of the greed surrounding college athletics.

I’m sure Luck is a candidate for the job. I’m also sure there are a number of candidates with ties to UT, impressive resume’s, and perhaps greater records of success. UT might see Luck’s work at WVU as many of us do — incomplete — and the results as mixed. Does Texas think that is the best they can find?

I submit that he is a candidate, will be a better candidate in years to come if he elevates WVU, and ultimately is not chosen as the UT AD… this time. The only way he is chosen is if he has an interview where he asuages all concern regarding his tenure at WVU, paints a compelling picture of the future of UT, AND convinces the hiring committee that he can bring that vision to life without making mistakes a first-time AD made at WVU. Maybe he can.

The high esteem exists. Bill Powers was a law professor. Luck went to law school at Texas. The Big 12 ADs nominated Luck for the College Football  Playoff’s selection committee — and don’t overlook that Luck’s name was the first one leaked and curiously close to the DeLoss Dodds retirement. I don’t think everybody knows about all the other things Luck is presently involved in that don’t make a resume, but still resonate, and how much his business background matters. He’s going to be a candidate. He’s going to find support that he doesn’t already have, but I bet you the committee, which wants to be important and have and serve a purpose, finds other people. Hey, real quick! Run Luck’s resume and qualifications through your mind. Tell me how he’s much different from Steve Patterson, who I hear is going to be a candidate.

JC said:

Names I’ve seen mentioned as a replacement, should Luck leave, are Babcock from Cincy, Mullens at Oregon, and even Huggy Bear. Not overly thrilled with any of those names.

Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I actually like much of what Luck has done. CFB nowadays is about facilities and flash and how that helps recruiting, even down to the variety of uniforms most teams roll out every year. And the biggest tool in making these things happen is money. Plain and simple. We all knew Luck was brought here to facilitate a conference change and improve the financials of the athletic department, and football specifically. Mission accomplished…..

Now, there are parts of his job that even he may admit may not have gone as well as he would like. The IMG saga, the head-coach-in-waiting deal, etc……things don’t always work out as planned. But if you think when/if Luck leaves that he has left things worse than when he found them, I disagree.

The notion that WVU needs a WVU man in every position of meaning is antiquated at best…..Nick Saban has no connection to Alabama. Les Miles has zero tie to Baton Rouge. David Shaw did not go to Stanford. Art Briles probably couldn’t have told you where Baylor was prior to being hired there. For every success story of an alum being a coach or AD, there are failures as well. Ask ND how the Charlie Weis era went. Heck, many on here would argue the Stew era wasn’t a success and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who bled gold and blue more than him.

Winning solves all problems. That same pouting and ranting coach patrolled the sidelines during the BCS blowout victory and no one complained then. He was even wearing black! The WVU man that got run out of town by just as many fans was patrolling the sideline during the most memorable and meaningful victory in program history…..no one was complaining then……

It’s not going to be Huggins. I can’t see Mullens leaving Oregon. And I want you to consider this about Babcock: He was at Mizzou when the Tigers were trying their hardest to leave the league. He’s now at Cincinnati, which the Big 12 couldn’t care less about as a prospective member. Nobody bullies Luck in the Big 12 board room. Could Jim Clements safely assume the same of Babcock as a successor? I like Whit. I’ve known him for a while. But I wonder if it’s best for him, never mind WVU. Your list is shorter than what Jim Clements has in his pocket. He has a list, I’m certain, because that’s what people who hire people do. One more thing that you said was perhaps unintentionally interesting: “The notion that WVU needs a WVU man in every position of meaning is antiquated at best…” Does WVU need a man in every position? There are other names out there that would satisfy the alternative.

Dann White said:

Yes, and don’t we here in Mountaineer land always think our guy is a shoo-in for any job that pops up. Do you remember Nehlen and Ohio State? Rodriguez and Alabama? Everyone about croaked on those two interviews…(not to mention the uproar when the prick with ears took off for Michigan)
Well, I guess it proves that either we’re impressed with them or we expect some loyalty and openness from them. Nehlen delivered on that expectation, I wonder if Luck will??? I am not so sure his early record at the U makes him a strong candidate anywhere.

… Rodriguez took the Alabama job.

I love you, Doug! said:

The question is, how did Baylor get so good and can they sustain it?

We know how Oregon — stuck in a rural, poor state in the upper-left hand corner of the country, away from most high school football hotbeds — got good: Phil Knight’s millions.

But remember South Florida? They were No. 2 in 2007 and have never had fewer than five losses in any season since. Completely off the table in a football-rich state.

Baylor? Up until a few years ago, among religiously affiliated schools, Liberty showed greater ambition to become a football powerhouse than Baylor.

Did a Baptist Texan Phil Knight or Boone Pickens fall out of the sky (as opposed to the usual custom of being taken up into the sky)?

Is Briles stealing talent that would normally have gone to Texas, then to the second-tier Texas schools — A&M, Tech, Houston? Or is he getting the Texas kids that used to go out of state, to Oklahoma or elsewhere?

And is all this attributable to the recruitment and success of one superb player, RGIII? Is that what started it all?

Finally, how can WVU replicate the success create by Baylor, which created it in the most unlikely of circumstances?

The answer to all your questions in a roundabout way is “Texas.” Baylor has money to throw at a winner. Baylor is recruiting at a very high level now. Baylor has a fantastic stadium on campus beginning next season. Baylor has tremendous infrastructure in the program (ie, strength and conditioning, but also academic support). Baylor has Texas high schools. We’ve never seen a sexy offense based in Texas saunter through the hallways of Texas high schools. Kids are going to flock to it. 

Bobby Heenan said:

I don’t know what to make of the Alford move. That comes as a surprise to me. He has surely under performed, but I figured with his body type and previous lack of WR experience he was going to eventually find his role as an IR. It will be interesting to see where Shelton Gibson ends up next year.

I was happy with Kwiatkoski’s play and suspect he’ll find plenty of PT once he’s fully healthy.

Worley is good. I hope we have him in his best natural position at CB, and it’s not one of those things where he’s the best we’ve got there, but his natural position is not there (see Joseph, Karl). It seems to me we have a lot of guys that can be good, capable nickel/dime type of DB’s (Dillon, Worley, Bell), but we’re missing that one reliable shut down corner that can make it possible for us to play man from time to time. Maybe Worley can be that guy?

I guess the contrarian in me would say it took the coaches time to figure out that a guy who had been a running back was better suited for outside receiver than inside receiver. Alford looked good on that catch down the sideline against Oklahoma State, I guess. And what’s WVU’s big problem with throws down the field? Guys can’t get open. Speed gets open. That’s how Carswell gets it done. Worley will have his hands full Saturday, but this is his moment. 

Sammy said:

I like the move of Smallwood ahead of Dreamius. Dreamius has been inconsistent and Smallwood can’t be a worse pass protector, and he’s been showing burst and was a lone bright spot vs Baylor with his kickoff returns.

I guess Ford isn’t healthy, so we ride the Trickett train once more.

No KJ Myers? Shocking. (I know, I know.) By the way, I think I read this somewhere but with no Myers the best offensive recruit for Dana (and with no Buie and a hurt Garrison) from 2011-2012 is second string Jordan Thompson.

Yeah, I have to wonder if during the film review the coaches saw Smallwood on kickoff return and said, “How many touches is he getting? You’re kidding.” Something good had to come out of the debacle, right?

Grumpy said:

Its not clear to me the schedule gets easier the rest of the way. I mean I know on paper it gets easier (not playing a ranked team every week), but I don’t count them as easier wins. Does Texas have new life? They beat OK pretty easy actually. K. State played Baylor very very well, in fact I thought Baylor would walk over everyone after seeing how they beat us. Kansas is about the only game I feel good about. Iowa State plays everyone tough, but given its at home we might have the edge. Until I see our line play better I don’t feel good about any game. We are getting Texas Tech at a good time. Our defense is rested up. I think part of the problem with Baylor was we had a very tired and slow defense on the field. Think about how many snaps they have been on the field going into that game. I think a fresh defense will play Tech much better.

We’ll know more Sunday morning because so many of our thoughts and projections are based off of what good we figure can come from the open week. Lose Saturday and 3-6 is a very real possibility because at Kansas State and at TCU in consecutive weeks is particularly daunting, and that’s followed by Texas, which could be scary by then. Or awful. We don’t know. What we do know is the road to six to six or seven wins is a heck of a lot easier if you bag the Red Raiders. It makes Baylor just a bad day, really, and sort of suggests it was somewhat flukish while the win against Oklahoma State was not. That does wonders for WVU’s psyche, if nothing else.

smeer said:

Oh God, I just posted this and then read Mickey’s latest and he’s bringing up the same stuff.

Lord, have mercy on my soul

I won’t post the comment in question, but I will post this as a reminder for you when times are tough.

Drew said:

When do we get a walkthrough blooper reel?

I honestly do most of those in one take. I spend more time  on the wardrobe and the background than I do the script — and by script I mean the notes I make in my head when I walk to the studio. The beagle walked in during the Oklahoma State edition, so I did a second take there. I think I kicked the Georgia State one once. You guys are in my head, though, so I’m bound to botch the Kansas State one live from my Kansas City hotel room.

overtheSEC said:

I’m a bit disappointed this Director’s Cut didn’t give us more insight into your process, your methods. I don’t know if I expected Bill O’Reilly’s “We’ll Do It Live” or what.

All the initiative you need to keep clicking. Maybe something happens soon. Maybe.

Dann White said:

Good one Mike. Your delivery is getting much smoother and you are getting your point across, though I’d like to see a little more emotion from you. You still show a modicum of camera shyness, but that takes time – even in your own den.
I still say this is where your career is headed, “so-o” we need to find you a hook, something along the lines of Groucho Marx’s duck, or Soupy Sales’ horn, though not necessarily something so campy, just something that is uniquely yours, your trademark.
I noticed you were gripping the notes, were you trying not to gesticulate? Why not try the walk-through standing? I guess though one needs some camera movement to pull that off.
Just my thoughts, an informal critique of the presentation, you are clearly onto something here, its just a matter of honing your presentation and finding the right forum, my brother, hang in there..

Dann

Oh, man, do I have you all fooled. You should find me in my environment. I’m a low talker, I’m an infrequent talker, I tend to swear. What you see is like David Faustino playing Mike Casazza.

SheikYbuti said:

Sorry I missed the chat. The WVU O-line told me it was tomorrow.

Oh.

Eric said:

Missed the chance to get on the chat, but what I wanted to know was will Tony Stark interview Ryan Gosling on Saturday? http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/09/texas-tech-coach-kliff-kingsbury-ryan-gosling-saga-continues-e-news/

I go away for one week and this happens?

JC said:

Maybe he should shoot jumpers underhanded too…..

I said on Twitter if Staten went granny at the foul line in the Gold-Blue Debut, I’d buy a No. 3 jersey. I’ve heard it’s on his timeline. Don’t worry, I’ve got people. 

Drew said:

Hope this works better than Trickett taking the O-line out to eat before the Baylor game.

Some guy asked Trickett this week about Trickett taking the offensive line out to eat after the Oklahoma State game, because, timeliness, and Trickett explained the deal is if he gets sacked once or less. Then, behind a nervous smile, “It didn’t happen last week.”

overtheSEC said:

Kevin Noreen teaching Devin Williams the “secret” of eating 3 AM is the most Noreen thing ever.

Enjoy the weekend!