Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which asks you for just a little more patience. I think things are working and looking better, and I think with a little more time this will all work and feel better. Meantime, keep the comments coming and I’ll keep packaging them and sending them forward. The mobile reader has to work better, but I’m encouraged by some other progress, so there’s still hope it doesn’t drive all of you away.

Before we proceed, a programming note: No F Double next week. I’ll be traveling and on the way to The Greenbrier, site of the spring game a day later. I don’t anticipate anything on here during the game. The media seating is in the stands, and we have to keep our own stats, so I suspect we won’t have WiFi.

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

Mack said:

If this drone is like others I’ve seen, there’s no way the one fully charges in 15-20 minutes while the other one is being used.

Mack: Drone expert. Of course. But, no, I doubt it’s continuous. I’d say they get 30 or so minutes max at a time.

Joe Dryler said:

As a fellow droner, love this if for nothing else than I know exactly where my donation went. But seriously, you heard it here first: within two years SkyCam will be out of business, will all be drone-based field cams.

Bold! You’d need a better battery, though. Perhaps SkyCam can pivot its business model to stay relevant. (Also, I love the SkyCam. Don’t want to see it go.)

Rugger said:

Back in 1982 our version of the drone was a crows nest that sat between the rugby pitch and lacrosse field (current site of soccer stadium) ND had a kid killed while filming on a scissor lift in a windstorm a few years back. This seems like useful technology unless one falls out of the sky and hits somebody on the head.

Depends. Who does it hit?

MontanaEer said:

That’s why they wear helmets!

Whither your coaches?

Dann White said:

Was it this blog where someone proposed that we should use the government’s “eyes in the sky” to find the problem with our punt-return game? Now that’s what is known as forward thinking.
This was probably only 4 to 5 years ago, a time when model helicopters and drones were toys. Now we need to find a way to put a cam and a rudder on a passed ball, maybe that will boost Durante’s numbers.

I remember something like that, yes, and I don’t even think it was in jest. Don’t sleep on that Durante tip. WVU has the ways and means. This is a GoPro on Mike Molina’s facemask last Saturday.

https://twitter.com/WVUfootball/status/718225309871534081

Oklahoma Mountaineer said:

This certainly makes the suspension of DTW easier to live through; Mike — do you have any idea on the timeframe for either DTW’s return or removal from the program?

He’s gone for the entire spring, and Dana Holgorsen not only suspended him for a different reason than he suspended Durante, Josh Lambert and Larry Jefferson, but he didn’t provide a theoretical timetable for his return like he did for the other three. I’d say it’s serious and entirely up to the player to get right what he got wrong and then prove he’s serious beyond that. But let me be honest about Thomas-Williams: I don’t believe for a moment the coaches think he’s as good as whatever his reputation is outside the Puskar Center. He’s done next to nothing, so he’s not going to get preferential treatment. Maybe that drives him away and maybe that’s what he needs to start rowing the right way.

philip said:

if i’m remembering correctly, paul myerberg assessed wvu’s returning stable of running backs as “filthy” in 2014, citing the presence of dreamius, wendell, rushel, dustin and andrew; the result was meh.

i’m going to take seider’s perspective: it’s what we’ve got, not what we’ve not. we might not have a stable, but it could be the proverbial quality being better than quantity adage coming true.

i’m starting to get into the mode. less than five months to go until kickoff.

I get what Seider’s saying, and it sounds refreshing, but there is truth in saying what he doesn’t have does, or perhaps more accurately, could matter. He doesn’t have depth — right now — and WVU hasn’t been able to avoid significant injuries at running back for a while. 

Sammy said:

The best thing that will happen to our runningbacks is our pass game should be better as the WRs are all back and the QB hopefully avoids boneheaded mistakes, and I think the line should actually be better too as everyone is back except for Lucas and there’s lots of competition for his spot.

The big question is whether Shel can be the dude. I think we can get by with a committee thing but we’ve all been waiting for Shel to look like what we’ve heard about so much. I still think he can but this is the last shot.

If the offensive line can protect Howard better, he can calm down, play smarter and be more efficient. If the passing game improves, it liberates the running game. Heck, even if WVU throws the ball 10 more times a game than it did last season, that’s 120 fewer running plays to wear on the backs, and that wouldn’t hurt.

Oklahoma Mountaineer said:

That, to me, means that they don’t have a place for the guy to recruit where they think he has a chance to be successful. Deforest had a TON of success and connections in Houston and I’m almost certain he was recruiting FL for WVU…………the over/under on Houston recruits for 2017 is 1 in my mind.

DeForest’s success in Houston was before WVU, to be clear. The entire team’s success in Houston, or Texas, has been minimal, especially after that first season. Honestly, the idea of Carrier in Houston is an answer to a question — and not a very good one, if we’re being honest — and not the answer to a problem, in which the problem isn’t that WVU doesn’t recruit Houston but that WVU lost coaches who were very good in the Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Atlanta and some other spots. If we took some more time on this — idea! — we’d find the Mountaineers don’t go to Texas unless they have a connection and a really good shot at a kid. They don’t and don’t try to get the first flight of kids. They’re rarely competing for a recruit against a Big 12 school. 

Sid Brockman said:

Yeah, I pretty much agree. Can’t see too much success in any Texas area, given the proximity of sister schools to the recruits. Not much WVU can sell besides…mountains? pepperoni rolls?

Oh, but they try. This is amazing, considering the snow we had a week ago.

https://twitter.com/coachseider/status/720678069225263104

smeer said:

I do think this is different than DeForest. Carrier is a WR coach once coached by HCDH. his reputation in the area and our growing reputation as WR U should carry some weight with kids who want to go to a place where they can catch the football – and QB Grier as the pitch guy will surely help. getting a WR or two who are system guys, having played 7 on 7 since they could walk will help.

question is will he be able to recruit other kids

To be clear again, DeForest is and was a better recruiter than Carrier, who has no experience on the road, and though he is known in the area, he is known as a prep and college player/opponent and not as someone who can sit in a living room and talk to parents and grandparents or who can talk to high school coaches about talking their players out of one decision and/or into the idea of picking WVU. The growing reputation as WR U just went to Louisville. I doubt Grier means much to these kids who played with or against Division I quarterbacks. Not picking on you or your point, smeer, and you’re right that there’s potential and even a little help is a start, but let’s keep the expectations level here. 

The 25314 said:

It’s good to be back in Texas and hot on the trail of the next Paul Millard.

Designated hitter Garrett Hope would like to speak to you.

ccteam said:

I am concerned with recruiting due to loss of assistants. It will surprise me if Carrier and WV can draw top flight recruits out of Houston. Wickline might be a great recruiter, who knows, but an older guy trying to win players to WV when he has been Midwest based so long worries me.

Yeah, he and Dana have better odds to pull players from that area than Carrier — for now, at least. 

Dave K. said:

Mike, as a supporter of HCDH, I feel it would be a mistake at this point to move on. ESPN had this:
“Those close to WVU say there have been negotiations for an additional two years, but nothing as of yet has been agreed upon. Holgorsen said that he does feel as if he has the support of his administration, including Lyons and president Gordon Gee, who arrived in 2014.” You have your finger on the pulse, your thoughts?

I think none of that is new, and it only refreshes the conversation because it’s from ESPN. It does create some cause for optimism that, honestly, I don’t believe exists. This always seemed clear to me: Lyons was willing to grant an extension but wanted to, let’s say, severely reduce the buyout. Dana was willing to sign an extension so long as it had significant security.

The 25314 said:

How do the Adams, Wickline, and Carrier hires fit into the narrative that Dana learned from his early mistakes of hiring assistants without any connections to traditional WVU recruiting territories and overemphasis on Texas?

It doesn’t, but it doesn’t mean he’s abandoned it (and that presumes it was true or trusted). That said, if we’re being fair, the timing of the Mitchell and Galloway exits do bend the mold a little bit. I think Wickline transcends that narrative, because of his reputation, though the release announcing his hiring was careful to mention his connections to the state. “I’ve always thought about what it would be like to come to West Virginia and be a part of West Virginia University,” Wickline said. “Growing up, I spent a lot of time in and out of the state in the Charleston and Huntington areas. My father’s from Fayetteville, and my mother’s from Kirk, and they met in West Virginia. A lot of family lineage and nostalgia was built from being in the state at such a young age for so long and talking about it. I have a lot of respect for the people in the state; they are the salt of the earth, and I am glad I am able to come here and be a part of it.”

Clarence Oveur said:

I think it’s a sound, practical argument. For the NCAA to mandate that Grier sit out six games in 2017 would be the equivalent of Grier sitting out two seasons. It doesn’t make sense to have him serve consecutive ineligibility periods when he would otherwise be available to play after six games into the 2016 season. His transfer adds another half-season to the ineligibility/suspension period, and his transfer to WVU was of course voluntary. For all practical purposes he has voluntarily added to his punishment. It’s not like Grier’s transfer creates some sort of loophole for him to play immediately. He would have to miss six games regardless, and in this case he’s going to miss more through his own initiative.

Grier wants to go to a school where he has a chance to be the starter. Playing for WVU in 2017 likely gives him that spot. However, there is no guarantee that he will be the starter. There is also no guarantee that the NCAA will grant this waiver. Grier is taking a chance here on his own volition, kind of like a school that proposes self-imposed penalties for rules infractions prior to the NCAA issuing a final ruling.

Just as the NCAA seems to give serious consideration to those member institutions that propose their own punishments and recognize the error of their past indiscretions, it’s not a stretch to suggest that Grier is going a similar thing here. He’s voluntarily given himself a season-long penalty when he’s already served half of it. There’s something to be said for that.

I think it’s a particularly strong argument in WVU’s favour for allowing Grier to serve the suspension and the transfer ineligibility concurrently.

I think it’s compelling, but there is no jury and the NCAA is not quite the equivalent to WVU or Grier’s peers. It makes sense on the simplest level available, but that sense is easily countered: No one made Grier leave Florida and tack an extra six games onto his banishment. That he, uh, voluntarily added to his own sentence sounds noble, but the NCAA is in charge of penalties and not the player or the school, so that might not hold much weight, if any. I think he has a shot. If you want an answer, I say WVU wins. But I’m realistic when it involves the NCAA and its rules.

Mack said:

I can’t think of any projects that WVU has been snakebitten by.

This is sarcasm, right?

Daniel said:

Mostly practice facilities come to mind for me.

I didn’t intend to limit the conversation to athletics, but since we’re here, the basketball practice facility was mostly hung up by financing at the start and, specifically, how much WVU needed in hand and how much WVU needed pledged to the project. The turf project at Mountaineer Field was initially slated to be started and finished before last season. The outdoor facility was just overlooked for a long time. 

Aaron said:

I kind of assumed Mike was referring to the mammoth public/private “dorm” that WVU built in Sunnyside, sold leases to and then didn’t have ready by the first day of classes. That was blamed on last winter’s weather, but was a massive black mark on the WVU brand. A lot of ticked off students who had been rented apartments that weren’t ready for them.

Indeed, that was part of my reference. It was a mess for a while there.

Sid Brockman:

There were also delays in the baseball stadium completion.

A few, yes. I’m not trying to run down the university for construction and some things out of its control. I was just saying WVU seems pretty optimistic about this one. 

smeer said:

scary thought or HCDH’s ace?

Grier, if he’s done the academic thing, could finish his degree after his first year (RS Jr) year with us. if memory serves, he is then eligible to transfer to any program that offers the masters that he “wants.” ala Russel Wilson (and our very own Clint?) )

so he could use the program to vault to another school? and the question becomes – will he fall in love with the school and his teammates and stay for that senior year or to his coach.

will he stay if we are sniffing at a playoff berth his senior year or vault if the team is rebuilding?

and could it play out, that he stays as long as Dana stays?

wild speculation, but it’s off-season you know.

You’ve got the horse chasing after the cart, don’t you? I suppose it’s possible, but these two don’t yet know one another too well, so I suspect the foresight isn’t there. Could they hit it off? Absolutely. Could Dana be fired? Sure. Could Grier finish in time for the fall of 2017? I don’t know about that one. Remember, he’s not enrolled right now. He’d have to hustle.

Rugger said:

Interesting thought, smeer. Is there any rule that precludes Dana from taking Will with him as a graduate transfer if Dana left for another gig?

 Nope, but what if the NCAA doesn’t rule until, I don’t know, a year from now? 

Dann White said:

As I recall, Yodny came in around 260 pounds. This video sort of confirms just how svelte that is for a 6’6″ fellow. I notined they have him over 300 to date.
The HS tapes showed his use of hands to be a big feature of his blocking, that is great to see as well. I am going to confess just just how poorly I have been able to watch line play through the last few years of being in Fox Sports never-never land. Obviously this (OL) is where the offense begins or ends, I am encouraged by the likes of our young veterans. Also, bear in mind, we don’t have to wait for Grier to be eligible to make some noise in the Big 12.
note: I won’t belabor this, but if you are wondering: I am getting more encouraging signs from my doctors and from the radiology and pathology folks at Carolinas Medical Center here in Charlotte. I might even see Grier take snaps for the Mounties someday. We’ll see….

Dann!

Loopy Hoopy said:

The kid is only a RS soph and has huuuuge potential. Already athletic for the position, just needs Grown Ass Man strength.

Based on fringe conversations, Cajuste could be WVU’s best pro prospect. 

Josh24601 said:

STANDING OVATION, YODNY!

A brilliant quote the first time we were allowed to talk to him. It was his Georgia State game all over again.

CC Team said:

You would hope that HCDH knew the drawbacks to an offsite spring game when it was set up, but it makes you wonder.

Maybe he saw a chance to play at The Greenbrier and pal around with someone who might be governor and said, “That’s not bad.”

Sid Brockman said:

It’s not like Dana had a choice for an offsite game. I’m sure the support staff and compliance folks let the coaches know how things would need to be done in plenty of time.

That’s not entirely true. He knew he wasn’t going to have Mountaineer Field, but there are other facilities on campus that could have been used. He also chooses to use six weeks for 15 practices, and although it would have been totally out of character and completely changed the spring program — which is to say, not possible — he could have manipulated the schedule to work with the recruiting calendar.

Rugger said:

I remember talking to a WVU lineman (Mark Cuneo) after the OU win in ’82. He said OU’s field crown was so pronounced that you could barely see Switzer on the other sideline. I guess it was good for running the wishbone although it didn’t prevent any Sunnyside fires in ’82.

Strategy!

tls62pa said:

I’m pleased. It’s hard to explain how hard it was to run up that crown after a big time leg workout. The other side might as well have been a ski slope.

It was always funny to listen to WVU players who encountered it for the first time. Some of them thought it was a problem with the turf. “Should I tell the coach?”

Hersh said:

I think that’s a Brock Powerbase they installed under the new turf( http://www.brock-international.com/sports-field-powerbase.htm ). That’s a nice upgrade, future-proofs the base for a long time(I think it has a 20 year warranty) and is a smart move with all the discussions around concussions and player safety on the rise. It’s a next-level product. They’re definitely doing this project right.

You will not find this commentary anywhere else.

SheikYbuti said:

That hump was so big, Fergie was jealous.

She was J to the E, A, L, the O, the U, the S. 

hoot said:

(rolls eyes and smiles at camera) “What hump?”

Enjoy the weekend!