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

2015 in 15: Part 3

July 22, 2015 by Mike Casazza

The big question deserves a quality answer. So glad you’re here.

Crest obsessed

by Mike Casazza

Once upon a time, this was a preseason puzzle that Dana Holgorsen presented as part subterfuge and part skill-sharpening. But when WVU’s coaches sat down to put together a depth chart, the assembly of players Holgorsen handed over to be published in the 2015 media guide, Crest was listed as the backup punt returner. (K.J. Dillon is the starter, because why the heck not?)

Much has changed between that August day and where we are now on the cusp of the next season. The secret back then about Crest is why he’s positioned as something of a secret weapon right now.

Holgorsen said Monday he believes Crest will secure a role similar to what Charles Sims had and what Wendell Smallwood has. Others think Trevone Boykin’s blueprint is one to study, and Holgorsen won’t disagree with that. The consensus, though, is Crest is not the future but the present.

He’s a football player, too good to position on the sideline if he’s not quite good enough to be the starting quarterback. At a time when quarterbacks, who are almost invariably the best athletes on their high school teams, are more and more often among the best athletes on their college teams, you’ll notice other schools experimenting with and ultimately employing something similar.

“That, to me, is where the quarterback position has gone,’’ Holgorsen said. “You’re going to see the same thing at Ohio State. They’ve got three of them. I guarantee you that two of them aren’t going to be sitting on the sidelines.

“If you’re recruiting better athletes who are quarterbacks, I don’t understand what the big deal is about getting them out there to play other positions. An athletic quarterback that’s involved in the run game and the draw game and the perimeter game, that’s no different than a guy that’s lined up in the backfield or the slot.’’

Boykin certainly saw it that way. He doesn’t really know Crest, but he knows Crest’s type because he’s cut from the same cloth.

“You just try to be relevant,’’ Boykin said. “If you’re a college football athlete you get a chance to watch other games and you see all the stuff that goes on around you and you just try to be one of those guys. And you try to do it in the right way.’’

For Boykin, doing it the right way meant not getting into some sort of a funk because he wasn’t playing quarterback. That’s an easy trap into which a quarterback who is used to being a quarterback can often fall.

“It depends on him a lot,’’ Boykin said. “If he really wants to commit to the QB position, he should. But if he’s going to be one of those guys like I was, I was just willing to help the team. That’s all it was about. If that meant playing quarterback then I was going to play quarterback. But if that’s not the best way you can help the team, don’t do it.

“It’s about being a team player. If he’s like me, I just wanted the ball. It didn’t matter how I got it.’’

 

2015 in 15: Part 2

July 21, 2015 by Mike Casazza

Day Two of the Bg 12’s media days, in which West Virginia was gone, but not forgotten.

Big 12 media days: Part 2

by Mike Casazza

There’s a lot of personality on the way today, but this probably can’t be topped. It was unreal to see it as it happened — it’s a large, long concourse area, and from my angle it was impossible not to spot the vendors walking toward Holgorsen and then wonder, “Wait, is this going to happen?” — and praise be to Mr. Fenken for seeing this coming and pouncing.

Dana did indeed knock out those two RBs in his 90-minute workout with reporters. I spoke to him toward the end, and he was still rolling. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation.

More from the bookend edition of 2015’s Big 12 media days after the jump.

Continue reading…

2015 in 15: Part 1

July 20, 2015 by Mike Casazza

The first installment of our 15-part season preview: Day One of Big 12 media day, in which WVU speaks and Dana Holgorsen says a lot.

Big 12 media days: Rolling blog

by Mike Casazza
2015-07-20 08.11.16

Once more, with feeling.

Continue reading…

Friday Feedback

July 17, 2015 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which invites you to take the last slice of the Big 12 preview: West Virginia!

(If reading is your thing, there’s a pretty fun text preview to go along with the video.)

I don’t do the preseason polls in the Big 12 — or anywhere, for that matter — but I do play along in my head. We all do, right? True story: While I didn’t pick an entire all-Big 12 team — I can’t tell you who the five best offensive linemen are — I did believe Nick Kwiatkoski, Karl Joseph and Josh Lambert would make the media’s team. I drafted my own preseason poll and had WVU No. 6, but I had Kansas State at No. 5 and Texas at No. 7. The rest was the same, which says … something … about the Big 12. It’s four-tiered, I think, with TCU and Baylor up top, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State next, Texas, WVU, Kansas State and Texas Tech next and Iowa State and Kansas below. Truth be told, it might be five-tiered, because the Jayhawks figure to be really bad.

Here’s what’s either concerning or exciting about WVU’s schedule. After clearing non-conference play, possibly at 3-0 for the first time since 2012, the Mountaineers get Tier 2 and Tier 1 in order across 26 days. The rest is easier to navigate, meaning much of the season will be decided in November. That’s useful, because Tiers 1 and 2 don’t play one another before November. Funny how that works. But a Big 12 bonanza might set up others to fall and for WVU, or someone, to rise.

Thanks for your patience this summer, this week and this Big 12 preview … and now wait a little longer for the beginning of the Tier 4 WVU preview, which starts Monday evening from the Big 12 media days in Dallas and concludes Aug. 3 with an evening report after the first practice. Tell the world.

Onto the Feedback. As always comments appear as posted. In other words, keep your yard in order.

Sid Brockman said:

I love Chris Brown’s work. He has definitely made me a smarter (and thus, I think, better) fan. I’ll be sure to pick up his new book.

Do it. Right here. Here’s something you might not know about Chris. He’s been super helpful to me, and to us, through the years. If I need something explained or if he’s got an idea or even a question, there’s a fascinating exchange that follows. This is not to brag, but to say, “Hey, nine bucks is a nice ‘Thank you’ note.”

Continue reading…

Big 12 preview: West Virginia

by Mike Casazza

As promised, the conclusion of the Big 12 previews. Thanks for your patience … and now wait a little longer for the beginning of the Tier 4 WVU preview, which begins Monday evening from the Big 12 media days in Dallas and concludes Aug. 3 with an evening report after the first practice. Tell the world.

That’d be 15, as in 2015, right?

by Mike Casazza

Another sign we’re getting closer. Last year’s poster was really popular and was the cover art for the media guide. WVU won national awards for each. This seems like a contender, too.

F Double and the final Big 12 preview on the way.

Big 12 preview: Texas Tech

by Mike Casazza

Nine down, one to go, but first, let’s see if Kliff Kingsbury can legitimize the hype, starting on the defensive side of the ball.