Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which has an appetite for analysis today. For the record, we did not insinuate Wednesday that Dana Holgorsen is packing on pounds, though he may have taken it that way.

Actually, he took it that way, like a pastry off the tray at the continental breakfast. What was meant as a look into the details and the dynamics that dominate the push toward the finish line turned into something very different about coaches and their late-game lifestyles.

Dana’s self-deprecation got me going somewhere. The questions went to one assistant after the other, until all six had been quizzed. The pressured was applied with increasing force, like extra helpings on a button. “We eat terribly,” Lonnie Galloway confessed.

They do, and as someone who travels a comparable amount, I can relate, though I don’t try to pack nearly as many tasks critical to the existence and success of a football program into one day. They have so much more on their plates and there isn’t a lot of room for finicky eating and diet-conscious decisions. So it’s early-morning breakfast buffets, drive-thru fast food for lunch and possibly even a bedtime snack and those dinners. Those homemade dinners.

A visit from a coach or a couple coaches is an event in that household, and those homes usually dress it up with a meal. Gibson still remembers the quantity and the quality of the food former linebacker Marc Magro’s mom prepared 12 recruiting classes ago. But sometimes those families don’t know they’re somewhere on a list of stops that night.

“They welcome you into their homes and most of them know when you’re coming, so they say, ‘Coach, we’ll fix you dinner,’ ” Galloway said. “You want them to feel comfortable around you and you want to feel comfortable around them.”

That’s Galloway’s polite way around stating the obvious.

“You eat whatever they put out there, let me say it that way,” he said.

When are you finding time for a treadmill or a bike ride or a swim? How are you counting calories or carbs or differentiating between good and bad proteins? What the hell is a gluten? Imagine you’re JaJuan Seider and you’re in south Florida trying to close a big-time running back or offensive lineman. Whoever. You and Holgorsen show up for a home visit. It’s your third of the night. You had hot wings at the first, some arroz con pollo at the second and now here comes the paella, which takes forever to make. How much Floribbean food can you take?

As much as is offered.

They’re not about to risk all that progress by pushing back a plate or saying no to supper.

“That’s why we all get fat and gain a lot of weight this time of year and have to start working out,” Gibson said. “On Monday, we’ll start.”

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, tell it like it is.

hoot said:

slightly off subject here, but who wants to bet Bruce Irvin gets a notice from
the league to report to the principal’s office after the game?

I’m sure he’ll get fined, and he deserves it, but I wouldn’t punish him too much. I think he actually diffused the situation — nobody wanted that thing to escalate once Bruce started raining knuckles. No way that was going to jump up a notch.

Drew said:

This is not a bad class and I don’t follow recruiting closely, but when it was said that Dana couldn’t be fired because of how great this class would be, I don’t see it. What happened? Another case of Dana fading down the stretch?

I don’t think this is that, so don’t take offense, but I love the people who think recruiting rankings are fireable offenses. No A.D. thinks like that, especially a few days after signing day. If you ever see Ryan Dorchester out and about, and if you have the nerve, sidle up to him, tell him I sent you, offer to buy him a drink, and then ask his thoughts on rankings. I’ll give you two possibilities for your question, though. 1) WVU started really strong and at one time had more commits than anyone else in the country. That inflated and exaggerated rankings, and those rankings sunk when other schools started getting commitments. 2) WVU took some shots and lost some battles, meaning the program got some good prospects who later de-committed and it went after some good prospects who went somewhere else. The Mountaineers might have secured more prospects if they went for safer bets, but that probably brings in lower-ranked players. WVU didn’t need a very big class, so it could be pickier and riskier throughout the process. In short, our evaluation is very subjective.  

Mack said:

Drew, this time last year Dana was way ahead of the curve for this year’s class. He had many of today’s signees verballed almost a full year in advance. He had a couple flip on him today and, at the end of the day, this year’s class ended up being a very good one but not one that is as shocking as Ole Miss having the #1 class in the country the past few years.

I enjoy signing day because it’s the one day where everyone else’s confidence in humanity matches mine from the rest of the year. Everyone saying, “How can you still be wavering today?! How can you go back on your word/commitment?! Why do you wait until the afternoon to sign your letter of intent?”

Today’s signing day highlights:

1) The #1 recruit in the country took two letters of intent to school and gave them to his high school coach because he hasn’t made up his mind yet. Apparently, he feels that his best decisions come after he’s had to sit around his high school all day.

2) UCLA got some highly touted guys, and then its defensive coordinator bolted for the NFL after they signed their letters of intent.

3) WVU flipped a receiver from Georgia a couple weeks ago. Today, he signed with Georgia.

So true. This would all be so much easier if it involved roses.

philip said:

espn had k-state ranked “not ranked” yesterday and i wouldn’t be surprised if none of those recruits ever lose to wvu.

Not surprised, but definitely sad, no?

I love you, Doug! said:

Why on EARTH would you pick Cincinnati over WVU? The conference? The TV exposure? The stadium?

Must be the chili.

Khalil Lewis…we called it!

Oklahoma Mountaineer said:

This class ends up at 36 according to ESPN — and it feels like a letdown…….at least to me. I guess that top 5 ranking early in the process is why, to me, it feels disappointing.

That pipeline from Miramar has a hole in it….and I don’t know that’s a bad thing. If the story is right, the kids wanted to spin the wheel for recruiting trips and to see what/if might be better than WVU. Dana didn’t like it and pulled a couple of offers to them and Antonio Brown’s kid as well — he signed with Marshall.

Stew had this happen in the 2008 and 2009 classes — top shelf kids using WVU as a worst case scenario and shopping themselves until the right offer came along.

Guess this may be the redneck in me coming out, but I don’t mind those guys not coming…….not a bit.

Yep, goes back to the ability to be more selective and pickier this season. As for Miramar, yes, more players de-committed than signed. But this just wasn’t a very good year for Miramar and some of the seniors who were projected to do big things when they were juniors. Two of the kids who de-committed didn’t even sign Wednesday. Here’s the list of Miramar prospects and what they did and did not do.

Karl said:

Seems like a solid class throughout, but it is a letdown that once again we couldn’t land one or two big name national recruits. At this juncture, it’s hard to understand why Dana’s offense doesn’t occasionally attract top 10-type QBs and WRs to WVU. This was an area Rich Rod and his staff excelled at. Once his offense earned a national reputation as a showcase for RBs, he was able to sign 5-star guys like Noel Devine and Jason Gwaltney. Our offensive rep was good enough to carry over to Bill Stewart for a year or so, when he signed Tavon and mobile QBs like Brunetti, Geno, Jeremy Johnson and nearly Tajh Boyd.

I don’t want to hear about the guys I’ve named here that didn’t amount to much. My point is, coming out of high school they could have signed anywhere in the country, but they chose us.

No five stars and not a lot of four stars, but I’m telling you WVU doesn’t put a lot of stock into the star system. The coaches prefer their system. They took their shots, most notably at running back and receiver, and they didn’t win some of the major names, but they were there at the end for a few … and the Shaq Wilson thing was just goody. If you believe this to be true — and I tend to believe it — here’s the list of players WVU targeted and offered by position. The Mountaineers got their guy at a couple of them. Some of this is purely relative, too. Three of WVU’s top overall targets were David Long, Rasul Douglas and Gary Jennings. Each one of those signed. WVU also thinks highly of Chugunov. Others do not. WVU might feel like it won that one. Others might not.

Mack said:

Based on non-verbal communication that I saw in the press conference, it didn’t appear that Holgorsen was all that high on Lindsay . . . but he was very high on Jennings and Durante.

I’ve never been on the “Fire DeForest” bandwagon, but DeForest seems to be the only coach WVU has that’s from the southwest… and WVU didn’t recruit anyone from that area this season… I’m somewhat confused as to what DeForest’s ultimate value is/was supposed to be.

I was riveted by Dana’s “We probably overestimated our ability to hit in Texas and underestimated the need to be in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia.” That in turn would pull DeForest out of Houston, where he’s done good work in the past, and where Dana likes to do work, as well. But DeForest has gotten some pretty talented players out of Orlando. And he’s a good recruiter. If you’ve never sat down and talked to him, either one-on-one or in a small circle, it’s hard to understand, but he’s very engaging and very easy to talk to. It’s no wonder to me that he’s seen as being so likable. (Aside: DeForest is from New Jersey, and one of the weirdest things I’ve seen through the years is how WVU doesn’t get many kids from there anymore. It used to be so good to the Mountaineers.) 

realbbbb said:

Yes, Bradley (along with all the other asst coaches) was at the MAC Signing Day thing last night at the Alumni Center.

Confirmed.

smeer said:

Are colleges allowed to hire consultants? bump Bradley to an admin position? is the NCAA counting practices with athletes? meetings with coaches? number of paid adults on the field?

guess I’m asking if a change in title (sans “coach”) changes anything?

Didn’t they just do that, or something like that, with Steve Dunlap? I think Bradley would quit and go back into the media before he’d step into an office role. I still think he’s the one who moves out of the three defensive line coaches, though.

Rugger said:

So, who can catch a punt?

Durante seems like the most likely candidate, but Cole and Jennings are the only players whose recruiting bios mentioned returning punts and/or kicks … and in high school, the best player usually handles that. So I’d guess there are a few possibilities.  

Mack said:

I’m always intrigued by guys like Lindsay from Martinsburg. I’ve never seen him play, but his only other offer was from Toledo. If I wanted to try to explain away how he could be good but only have an offer from Toledo, I guess I’d say that he’s a wide receiver from the state of West Virginia . . . which wouldn’t have a great track record of producing great receivers. Also, he was probably firmly committed to WVU. But I saw on Twitter that the coaches were saying that he performed very well in camps in Morgantown . . . so it would be good to see a good in-state guy.

A few have hopes that he’s a sleeper defensive back who flies around and makes plays. He’s got the potential, too. Joe DeForest: “He’s one who jumped out at us at camp. Literally. There was one ball he intercepted and he jumped three feet higher than anyone else.” He added Lindsay was the best athlete on the field, and that field had kids WVU signed and wanted to sign. He might be a new Jarrod Harper, a guy committed to putting in the time to earn a spot and contributing wherever he can.

Sammy said:

I think Lindsey comes in as what Holgorsen has called a “program guy.” I think they like his athleticism but he’s going to redshirt, get buried in the depth chart, hopefully be a model kid and then hopefully we hear from him when he’s a redshirt junior or senior and becomes a feel good story of an in-state guy who is making the most of his opportunity like Wes Tonkery. We also have a bunch of junior and senior DBs/safeties in particular.

It’s hard to feel bad about this recruiting class but also hard to feel amazing. We addressed a lot of needs, very happy we added some beef with 8-9 OL/DL guys.

Hopefully we can get some actual four year receivers in the program and develop them. If they start to break out we could be set at receiver for several years, as the only guys we’ll lose off this year’s team are Thompson and “Shock the world” KJ Myers.

I’ll be curious to see who leaves. I remain convinced that Millard will be here through spring but once he’s third string behind Crest and Howard he transfers to an FCS school and throws for 3,000 yards at West Alabama.

Fair parallel, I think. Program guy sounds about right, and there’s no ceiling there. The nose guards are valuable additions, and at a position of need, and WVU likes the project aspect of some of the offensive linemen. Time will tell for all these deals, but you have to start with pieces in the right places. I think that’s promising here.

JC said:

Great take on this Mike. It’s an under appreciated part of the game and an aspect that a lot of casual fans may not know. Most of the time, the way guys guard is based off tendencies seen during film study. It’s obvious when you watch guys guard Staten….they favor the crossover to the left, which is why they’ll cheat it and/or have a double team waiting.

Question: Do Huggs and staff use such film study in the way Brad Stevens and others do, utilizing new metrics?

No. That Butler stuff was insane. I remember the stories vividly from the Final Four, and it only escalated after that. Huggins never struck me as somebody who was big into eFG% and true shooting numbers. Hell, they didn’t track tips and deflections the past several seasons, though that’s changed now because they press. They do know who’s left-handed and who can’t go left. They know who won’t shoot from the baseline and who isn’t a 3-point shooter. They know who dribbles out of the triple threat and who can’t handle against the press. College scouting isn’t as advanced as pro scouting because the resources, namely time and exposure, aren’t as plentiful. Truth is, you can watch film and learn a lot. The best college teams and coaches scheme toward strengths. Most players don’t have a catalog of strengths so it’s easy to watch some video, track repeats and understand what that means. And similarly, the best teams and coaches try to take away strengths. Staten does something pretty tricky, by the way: As you say, he favors going left, and he’ll do that early in a game. When it’s an isolation play or a shot-clock situation, he tends to go right.

Sid Brockman said:

Dev is playing better, but he still frustrates me. He passed well out of the double on Saturday, the first time I remember. However, he still brings the ball down too much, is slow to make a move at times, and shuffles the puppies more than he should.

All that said, he is still a tantalizing prospect. I have to remind myself that he’s a true sophomore. The potential is there: a bull who has a nice midrange jumper. And a good-to-great rebounder. If he stays until he’s a senior, he could be a stud post player/defender.

How about, “Williams was double-teamed,” against Texas Tech? WVU hasn’t had a double team since the last days of Kevin Jones. Truth is, it should work against Williams. Take away the greatest chance for an inside basket and increase the likelihood of a turnover by way of a travel, offensive foul or bad pass. Dare him to pass it to a shooter you’re not particularly scared of. He did handle it well, though. Will it re-appear? Baylor rolls with a 2-3, so it’s possible. As for the rest, yeah, sophomore who only got going late last season and who was playing really well before missing the Oklahoma game … when he was dearly missed.

Ccteam said:

Devin is good. To be great he needs to work on his footwork with his back to the basket. He often seems to catch the ball in a body position that limits his options, plus as Sid says, he brings the ball down too ofte. On the plus side he is 6-9 and all muscle, catches passes fairly well and has a nice shot fro 15-18 ft facing the basket. He rebounds well, and he works hard.

Sophomore! Can we agree the early freshman-to-late freshman growth and the freshman-to-sophomore growth existed? That figures to extend, as long as he doesn’t drive off the road and start hugging trees. He didn’t play inside much at all in high school, which ought to somewhat exaggerate his rebounding numbers and explain his low post footwork as well as his propensity to dribble. That’s an easy habit to break, and one Jon Holton would be wise to drop, too. 

RPowell said:

We knew coming into the year that we didn’t have a roster full of pro prospects. But what we do have is a team loaded with hard working players that are good teammates. And that’s what Devin is: a hard worker and a good teammate.

… and a pro prospect. He is. 

SheikYbuti said:

Still waiting for the other shoe to drop from the conference as to any punishment that might be levied on Watkins for his instigating double-eagle. Obviously, no news is good news in that regard.

He apologized Tuesday, which was odd because it was so obvious it happened when it happened. Cheers to Watkins for reaching double figures.

Rugger said:

Are we the only team in the Big 12 without an official hand gesture? Seems a shame to deny us one that resembles the outline of our State.

Hook ’em!

JC said:

I bet part of the increased success shooting is guys getting used to playing this frantic pace, coupled with Huggs getting a better feel for the rotation and who can do what. Playing that hard full-court has to take it’s toll on our guys too and having done it for half a season now (slightly more), it appears they are getting more comfortable with it themselves…..

Still needs a lot of work. I have a hard time seeing this team existing long in the postseason shooting 40 percent and worse. I think seeing zones from TCU and Texas Tech helped, actually, because it slowed WVU down. The man-to-man from Kansas State required some patience, too. Oklahoma pushed the pace and got a big lead and that expedited the Mountaineers, who obviously did not play offense or shoot it well.

Foul Shot said:

Maybe WVU just has better shooters than what they had the last 3 years?
I remember everyone saying Huggs signed Harris based on seeing him make 3’s at his high school gym, too bad it did not translate to WVU games.

Sorry, but I’m not buying that WVU has better shooters this year than the past few years. The whole “golf scramble” thing Huggins has turned into one of this season’s recurring lines is funny, but isn’t it also troubling? There’s a problem associated with not knowing where the shots are coming from and having to find them every game. I know it’s fun to see WVU win and do so without Harris and Henderson, but what exactly was wrong with those guys offensively? They were apathetic defensively, but they scored.  

overtheSEC said:

The passing has just been WAY better. In the first 5 Big 12 games–and that includes a 21 pt win over Oklahoma–only 47% of WVU’s shots were assisted. (If you take out the Oklahoma game, that number is under 41%). In the past three games, 60% of WVU’s shots have been assisted. I realize it could be argued as a chicken/egg type thing (if you’re missing more shots, you score more on offensive rebounds) but that number at least supports what I feel I’ve seen which is the players appear to be making the extra pass to the squared up shooter. I feel like Macon got the hook at least twice against TTU for putting the ball on the floor (and subsequently turning it over) rather than immediately taking a shot or passing it.

Better, but still not very good, and it was shaky again against Oklahoma. Remember that eight-pass possession against Kansas State, the one where the crowd stood and roared and WVU went from under the basket to the top of the key and then from the right side to the left side before State (on the left!) made a jumper? Those passes were crisp and accurate, which means easy to catch and pass. For WVU’s offense to function properly, the passes have to be that way. Watch how many times someone has to lunge to the side, to go low, to jump up to catch a pass. Even one pass like that can stall a possession.

hershy112 said:

Adrian is just in the way tonight.

I more email about Adrian, and some of the things I write about him, than anyone else on the team. More than Gary Browne! I’ve had people say I’m dead wrong about his defense and that he’s “outstanding.” (That was before K-State, when I thought he was just great, and I wrote a much.) I’ve had people say he’s miscast this season and is a “tremendous” offensive talent. (I might agree with the “miscast” part, because he’s not making a living in the post offensively or defensively). I’ve had people tell me he needs to be putting the ball on the ground because that’s where his game is strongest. (Nope.) I’ve had people critique my criticism of his rebounding. (True.) The kid’s struggling and this is trending close to a lost season, which is obviously sad. I think he plays hard and wants to do well, and you can see that in effort and expressions, but you do wonder how long WVU can hope he pulls himself out of this. The whole “Our 11/12 is better than their 11/12” is noble. Is it true? Is it worth it? Does that change in the postseason, where you might be better served with, say, nine than dealing with the misdeeds that might come with extending the bench? (Also: Sophomore!)

ffejbboc said:

I’m thinking we roll Baylor at home.

Why? 

netbros said:

This next game against Baylor is big. If they can put Oklahoma behind them and give the Bears a solid introduction to Huggins Hell, they can get the mojo back.

However, if they lose two in a row for the first time this year, it doesn’t bode well going forward. This team has tended toward late season swoons in recent years. Sure, only three guys that matter are left from the previous roster, but they really need to be careful about the psychology of momentum.

If they get Baylor this weekend, I really think they can sweep Ok. State and take another at home from K-State. If they simply manage to split the rest of the games, they could go into the NCAA tourney as a 4-5 seed.

If they only win 2-3 of the remaining games, though, they won’t have a whole lot to show the selection committee.

You just can’t lose home games after a loss if you want to make a case for NCAA seeding. And Baylor’s dicey, man. The Bears are on a roll. They’ve got a scorer who’s also a quick and heady point guard, four above-average-and-better shooters, three ball-handlers with strong assist-turnover ratios, big bodies and shot blockers. It’s not an easy matchup. They crush teams on the boards and excel in assist-turnover ratio. We haven’t seen WVU handle back-to-back losses. We don’t know how the freshmen and/or junior college guys handle that. We can assume the first-year player wall exists and is approaching. There’s a lot yet unwritten because there’s a lot we don’t yet know about reactions.

Karl said: 

KNEEL BEFORE LON

Enjoy the weekend!