The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Sacks are hip, buy Tyler Orlosky isn’t feeling it

August 4, 2016 by Mike Casazza

 

West Virginia gave up a lot of sacks and pressures last season, and quarterback Skyler Howard dealt with just about all of them. Rarely, if ever, could he blame his center. Tyler Orlosky, it turns out, was not in the habit of giving up sacks, except the one time he did.

He’s got a pretty good explanation for that. “I had a torn hip flexor,” he said. “I had a torn hip flexor, and I was on medication to block out the pain but to also stop the leg from moving.”

The fifth-year senior from Cleveland is fine now, and he has been for a long time, and he’s in the middle of the strong point of WVU’s offense.

Players speak, including this linebacker

by Mike Casazza

 

The second day of West Virginia’s preseason camp included the first opportunity to speak with players. Hardly anything had been accomplished by the time we met them, which was before the second practice, and Al-Rasheed Benton wanted to be perfectly clear that he and others still have miles to walk.

I’ll start by saying I’m not there yet. I don’t want anyone to get the assumption that I feel like I’m perfect or that I don’t have much to work on. I still work on those things as well. We sit in meetings with those guys and go over film and I’m learning just as well as they are. Those guys have come a long way and you have guys like (redshirt freshman linebacker) David Long who’s just a freak athlete. Once he fully understands what’s going on with the defense, I don’t think there’s many that can stop him. Sean has come a long way. He’s actually the oldest guy. I look to him at times for advice because he’s been here longer than I have, and (redshirt senior linebacker) (Justin) Ardnt as well. Getting in and understanding what this defense is about and how this defense is supposed to be played, I think we’re coming along with that. I think we have a long way to go, but we have a couple more practices, and I’m anxious to see how it goes.

Coach on commit: ‘He can pass and shoot at 6-10. He has a very bright future.’

August 3, 2016 by Mike Casazza

Um, rich man’s Jon Holton? However you want to label him, Derek Culver is committed to West Virginia, and this is the biggest recruiting win for the Mountaineers since Esa Ahmad.

What I mean to say is Bob Huggins is getting big-time players. Culver is considered to be one of the top 100 prospects in the 2017 class. Rivals rates him No. 51, 247Sports No. 54 and ESPN No. 78. Each grades him as a four-star after he averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds last season.

“You’ll see his numbers dramatically increase next season,” said the coach.

Vlajkovich said WVU didn’t give up while recruiting Culver.

“Hugs got in early and was consistent,” said the coach. “He came and saw Derek in the fall. He came and saw him in the spring. Larry Harrison and he were consistent and developed a sincere relationship with Derek.”

“I feel I’ll fit into West Virginia’s system really well,” Culver said. “I’m 6-10. I have size to cover. I can pass and shoot. I have versatility.”

It’s been suggested, in fact, that Culver could be another Ohio Player of the Year landed by Huggins, according to Vlajkovich.

“He can be,” said the coach. “He needs to work on his consistency. But there’s no doubt he has the ability worthy of the title.”

 

Minor shuffles

by Mike Casazza

Long ago, way, way back on July 18, West Virginia unveiled its media guide. Sixty-one pages in, there was a depth chart, and you knew then that you should only take it so seriously.

Tuesday was the day when things officially got serious. Preseason camp began, and the Mountaineers christened the occasion with another depth chart, though, again, you can only take this one so seriously. You can take it a little further, but I’d keep a loose grip. The first one that really matters in the preseason, if such a thing can be said, will be Aug. 13.

You see, the Mountaineers released a revamped and improved media schedule on Tuesday — bingo players: these were positive changes, and this is not a gripe about access — that includes not only a sit-down with Shane Lyons, but a scrimmage next Saturday. I doubt we’ll be given lineups, but it’s our habit to scribble down who’s on the first-team offense and defense and who makes up the subsequent lineups.

But for Tuesday, the first day, here’s the two-deep to carry us through to the next time we chart lineups — and these are scanned files, meaning the pages came to me crooked.

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Fun times for the Mountaineers!

by Mike Casazza

 

Consider the offseason for Dana Holgorsen. After winning eight games and a bowl for the first time since joining the Big 12, he had to replace four assistant coaches — two because of his decisions, two because of the decisions of others — and deal with ultimately misrepresented uncertainty about his job security. Getting through the winter to the spring was neither swift nor simply.

Then spring football arrived, and the 15 practices went very well but also by way too quickly for a coach who was witnessing a return to form on offense.

Tuesday, as you might imagine, couldn’t come fast enough for Holgorsen.

“It’s fun to have an offensive line that gives you a chance to be able to work on the other stuff,” Holgorsen said, “and as we all know, that’s why I was hired five years ago.”

Dana Holgorsen welcomes you to 2016

August 2, 2016 by Mike Casazza

If this is the hallmark of the preseason, the head coach will be fine with that, but Tuesday was essentially uneventful for West Virginia. I mean, preseason practice started, and that’s good, but the news conference and our rubber-necking for the 30 minutes we’re allowed on the field did not yield much.

As Dana Holgorsen said, a lot of the changes were put in motion in the spring, and many of the players who arrived afterward were on hand early enough in the summer to hit the ground running on the first day.

In short, WVU gets to work on WVU for its 29 practices.

This is not to say the day was without news, though.

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‘ … we never let you know what we’re doing.’

by Mike Casazza

So, how do you run a 3-3-5 for 14 seasons and stay ahead of opponents who you’ve beaten and frustrated and are intent on catching up to your scheme? If you’re Tony Gibson, you do what you have to do to keep secrets secret.

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Bingo?

by Mike Casazza

Just a reminder that Preseason Bingo started today. You can’t cross off items that happened last week. Obviously. It’s not Pre-preseason Bingo. So, anything that’s published today and onward is eligible … and keen eyes will spot a few of our items already.

Happy marking!

Photo credit

Prep football started Monday

by Mike Casazza
wvssac

 

Don’t get the wrong idea: Schools that were hit hard by June’s storms and flooding have picked themselves up, but they’re merely back on their feet. There’s a lot to do at those schools and, more significantly, in those towns, some of which will never be the same.

But Monday offered a small bit of relief because prep football started. The first Friday of the season is now within sight.

And I’m happy to say we did our part to help accelerate recovery. I dropped a fair-sized check in the mail Monday, and thanks to the update from the WVSSAC’s Kelly Geddis, now you know what’s going to happen with the money you donated.

To those of you who gave, accept my gratitude. Donations ranged from a couple bucks to a couple hundred bucks. We did better than some other efforts and not quite as good as others, but we did something. I knew we could, and I thank you for that.

Quite a summer for in-state recruiting

by Mike Casazza

https://twitter.com/Darius_Stills56/status/760272649096495109

I’m prepared for anything from Darius Stills. I don’t know him. Never met him. Never seen him play live. Have seen his tape, and I see he’s a two-star who might be more widely courted and rated higher if he were a few inches taller (he’s not 6-foot-3, by all accounts … but again, I’ve never seen him).

But I do know that following Gary Stills’ son’s story has been something else. I like his style.

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