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

A raise and an extension to go with the promotion

May 1, 2014 by Mike Casazza

WVU’s still newly minted defensive coordinator Tony Gibson had his contract revised in April. He received a $100,000 annual raise and a one-year extension that covers him through the next two seasons. He’s the third-highest paid member of a staff of assistant coaches making nearly $3 million this season.

The collective salary for the assistant coaches is $2,925,000. During the 2013 season, WVU paid its nine assistants $2,575,000. When Holgorsen signed a six-year contract extension in August 2012, he pushed for larger salaries for his assistants. A provision was included guaranteeing a salary pool of $2.6 million and increases between 3 and 5 percent every year. WVU has increased the salary pool by 12.5 percent.

On top of Gibson’s raise, Bradley makes $400,000 more than his predecessor, Erik Slaughter, whose contract was not renewed. Cogdell, though, makes $150,000 less than his predecessor, Keith Patterson, who left WVU to be the defensive coordinator at Arizona State.

Bradley has the top salary at $600,000 and DeForest is next at $500,000. His is the only contract with a liquidated damages clause, or a buyout. The associate head coach must pay WVU $100,000 within 30 days if he leaves WVU for a job “with any entity in any capacity relating to football.”

Gibson’s salary tops Dawson and Galloway, who both make $300,000. Crook makes $250,000, Mitchell makes $225,000 and Seider and Cogdell both make $200,000.

For the purpose of clarity, only Gibson, Shannon Dawson and Ron Crook have “new” contracts this season. In addition to Gibson’s arrangement, Dawson signed a one-year deal and Crook had a year added to a contract that was originally intended to end after the 2014 season. Damon Cogdell and Tom Bradley have two-year, first-year contracts. JaJuan Seider, Lonnie Galloway, Brian Mitchell and Joe DeForest are working on their original contracts.

Scoop & Score with Glasco IV

by Mike Casazza

(Update: Here’s the podcast link for your ears only.)

Baylor Bears running back (former running back?) Glasco Martin joins me on Scoop & Score this morning. We’ll talk about the NFL draft, the rise of Baylor football and NCAA reform. I’ll also weigh in on scheduling tactics and the college football playoff formula, and we’ll check in on the Heisman Trophy winner. Listen live right here.

Peer through the trees with me

April 30, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Being the trendsetter that it is, the SEC stole some Sunday night-Monday morning thunder when it revealed at the end of this past weekend it’s sticking with an eight-game conference schedule. The high-profile, slight-of-hand compromise attached to that was a mandate for all teams to play at least one team from the Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten or ACC every year.

Personally, I have a problem with that, same as how I expect I’ll have a problem in a few weeks when the ACC will probably also stay at eight games and possibly even issues a similar scheduling requirement. (And then you’ll probably see the SEC and ACC schedule one another and get around the ransom Big 12, Pac-12 and Big Ten schools could seek for a one-off non-conference game.)

I truly wonder how the College Football Playoff committee can treat the available schools equally when whatever formula the members decide to use or have to use allows for some significant variables, now most notably uneven conference schedules and potentially uneven schedule strengths.

Continue reading…

And you know that you’re the only one

April 29, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Mister Christian is on the way — I’m told it’s “overambitious” to expect a sixth year, but the pursuit is in the plans — and WVU has another post-graduate transfer and one it can plug into the secondary.

For a program with a lot of transfer players in its two-deep, a value for that influx of talent and a need for experience in the secondary, that’s good news.

It might also be one of the last such inclusions as Dana Holgorsen believes the suddenly active NCAA might soon seek to “get a handle on” the post-graduate practice.

“I’ve been very vocal about this,” Holgorsen said. “(Sims) left the University of Houston and had his degree from there, but being able to be in the Big 12 — and there’s been a lot of talk about the ‘Power Five’ conferences and a separation and a lot of that, and it’s not going to go away — that’s something that’s going to continue to exist. Kids want to play at the highest level possible and we’re probably going to gain an advantage in recruiting.”

The point? Players commit to a school and take advantage of all it offers to graduate early all so they can go to a bigger and better school that can do more for the player — that is, expose them to the NFL — than the original school can. That’s not exactly within the spirit of intercollegiate athletics, but it’s a part of the landscape and something schools do capitalize on every time it’s a worthwhile option.

And for that alone, the NCAA may indeed act.

Get to know Tarik Phillip (at last)

by Mike Casazza

We’ve only told part of the story about Tarik Phillip so far. Here’s the rest, thanks to a bunch of fun anecdotes the player and his assistant coach shared with me.

My favorite? Phillip (pictured playing defense, of course, in the photo above) was invited to a famed junior college showcase for the country’s best second-year players.

“He hadn’t even played a game in junior college,” McMillan said. “That’s unheard of, but that’s how good he was.”

Mister Christian, oh the time has come

April 28, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but a former elite recruit who played at Pitt is transferring to .. West Virginia.

Following Rushel Shell southbound down I-79 is Cullen Christian, according to PathernDigest.com. Christian will be a postgraduate transfer, similar to Devon Brown and Charles Sims and Clint Trickett before him at Dana Holgorsen’s WVU.

Christian, who like Ryan Mundy is a Pittsburgh kid who comes to WVU after spending some time at Michigan, has an affinity for Tony Gibson.

“From the first time I met him, I knew he was a down to earth guy,” Christian said. “He relates to his players, he gets it. The main thing, he puts everybody on the same level. Whether you’re a senior or freshman, the guy who deserves to be on the field is on the field. At Michigan, he never laughed at me. He always kept it real. When I got to Michigan, everything was exactly what he said. Everything was good. I could pretty much trust him. That’s a unique characteristic to have of a coach.”

Christian was a prep star at Penn Hills and generally considered as one of the best cornerbacks in the recruiting class of 2010. It hasn’t clicked for him on the field, though. He didn’t like the “direction” of the Michigan program after the Product-Hoke transition and decided to leave after spring ball between his freshman and sophomore seasons. He wasn’t a major contributor at Pitt the past three years and two seasons. In Morgantown, where he might have two seasons of eligibility, Christian figures to add depth to positions of need in the defensive backfield.

Motorin’

by Mike Casazza

West Virginia’s baseball team swept Kansas State over the weekend with two relatively comfortable wins and one walk-off in between. The latter was aided by a bizarre strike zone in the late innings that many thought changed at-bats, and a 50-5o coaching decision to not issue an IBB to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth that came up tails for Kansas State.

But when you’re rolling like WVU is rolling, you get the good side of the coin more often than not. And the Mountaineers are shaking things up at the right time of the season.

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Friday Feedback

April 25, 2014 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback. PING!

Quite unexpectedly, but quite truly, West Virginia’s baseball team in this final third of the season has put itself in position to earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

Earlier this month, the Mountaineers lost seven in a row and looked lost on the back end of the pitching staff. Now they’ve won three in a row and five of six and have massive three-games series at home  the next two weekends. I worked Wednesday’s game against Marshall and wanted to see if what had caught my eye was real or a figment of my focus.

It’s real. WVU’s offense doesn’t mess around and gets on base up and down the lineup. The splits in the first three innings are telling, and when you’re a revived team like the Mountaineers are, early runs keep that carousel spinning and keep everyone on board believing.

A three-run second inning got WVU rolling and extended a trend that’s helped aim the team’s fortunes in the right direction again. In the past six games, the Mountaineers are outscoring teams 17-7 in the first three innings and have led four times and been tied once.

During the losing streak, the Mountaineers were outscored 16-7 in the first three innings and never led entering the fourth.

WVU had two three-run innings against the Thundering Herd, giving them six innings with at least as many runs in the past six games. The Mountaineers had no innings with three or more runs and only three two-run innings in their losing streak.

It’s a different team than what Marshall prepared for before the March 18 game between the two was postponed.

“The biggest thing is they’re getting production from the back end of their lineup and they weren’t earlier,” Marshall manager Jeff Waggoner said. “That’s why they’ve become a great offense. The first part of the season, their top four or five guys were swinging it. Now they’re getting guys at the back end hitting. It makes it hard to pitch against them when they’re getting production from all nine guys.”

Equally important is the stabilization of the pitching staff. It looked like a lost cause when WVU was swept at home by Oklahoma State to put the caps on the losing streak. That left Mazey in a tricky spot for a midweek game against Ohio State, and almost by default he flipped the ball to Ross Vance. The left-handed sophomore aced his first career start with a complete-game, 14-strikeout gem that looks to have changed the season.

Mazey wanted to take Vance for a spin as a starter a second time, but knew he wouldn’t be available in that weekend’s series at Oklahoma. He nevertheless planned for a weekend rotation with Harrison Musgrave, John Means and a third starter, and that meant bumping Sean Carley to the bullpen to close things at the end. With Vance recovering, Mazey started Corey Walter for the first time this season.

Walter went four innings. Ryan Tezak took the ball and didn’t allow a hit in 2 2/3 innings. Carley pitched 2 1/3 innings for the save and WVU won the final game and thus the series. Neat!

A fresh Vance went six innings and allowed one run in a momentous 14-2 win Tuesday against Maryland. Walter, who impressed Mazey against Oklahoma. and got the ball again Wednesday and allowed three runs (two earned) in seven innings against Marshall.

The rotation is set with Vance on normal rest for Sunday and the bullpen is fresh and secured with Carley as the closer for three games against the Wildcats and the Big 12’s best team batting average.

WVU needs wins and must avoid losses, especially at home, though they’ll have a lot of chances in conference play and non-conference games to help the cause.

WVU has the benefit of playing in the RPI’s No. 2-rated conference and will follow the series against Kansas State with another three-game series at home against Texas, which is No. 8 in the RPI.

WVU also gets a neutral-site game against Virginia Tech (No. 119) and a road game against Maryland in addition to valuable three-game road series in the conference against Kansas (No. 68) and Texas Tech (No. 14). A prominent college baseball statistics site projected before Tuesday’s win the Mountaineers could win six of their final 16 games and remain in the top 45.

“I don’t know if there’s a benchmark, but you probably feel safe if your RPI is in the top 30, top 35,” Mazey said.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, get a grip.

Dann White said:

Ah! Spring!! Where thoughts of football begin to drive out all distractions from other less entertaining notions. I am ecstatic today, reading the double-f and listening to “Scoop and Score” simultaneously on my trusty desktop, while the wife is not at home. It don’t get no better than that.

There seems at times to be an idea that the measure of a successful season is winning the approval of the fan base by winning enough games and attaining the right bowl invitation. Boy that’s a reach! Everyone should know and understand that the team exists just to please the folks on this blog!

My prediction on job one: Unless he again does everything in his power to give the job to someone else, Paul Millard will get the nod against Alabama. DH wants his QB to know what he wants, without him having to say it. Paul has that part of the job DOWN PAT. Were I coaching this team, I would make Paul take first team reps at a very fast pace, rushing at least three at a time.

If he can be conditioned to execute when things get frantic, if he can wait to plant his feet when he hears the hoof-beats coming; he may actually become a decent pro-style quarterback. Will Dana heed my advice? Of course not!

By the way Mike: In all honesty, your radio persona is really coming together. While I didn’t peg your voice right off as necessarily of radio quality, it has matured with what I would guess to be increased confidence through practice. Likewise, your ability to ad-lib has come full circle. Kindly pass that learning curve off to the QB rotation.

I’ve got to hand it to you little brother, you have broadcast talent. Don’t wait too long to make your next move; writers who can also express themselves on the air are probably few and far between. If you don’t have a good, no – GREAT agent, start sending out some clips and some clippings in search of one, he who hesitates is lost,

Dann

That’s an interesting, and I think increasingly understood, endorsement of Millard. It’s a big, big, big opportunity and you’d like to avoid spike strips by any means available. As for me, thanks for the kind words. I rather enjoy this venture. And I don’t have an agent, but I do all right.

Continue reading…

Oh, that NCAA

April 24, 2014 by Mike Casazza

My head is spinning. The Board of Directors did what we thought it would do today. It approved all the rules it adopted last week — unlimited meals and snacks and other initiatives aimed at assisting the general well-being of student-athletes — and also voted to go forward with the other highly important, if not less-publicized idea.

They’re calling is a “restructuring process” of the NCAA, which is that “autonomy and not independence” thing we’ve been talking about here lately. It just makes sense, and it’s not hard to see and understand why.

But I’m left with an odd feeling. The NCAA did what was right and did what we thought it would do. There was no surprise, even though that kind of feels like a surprise. It’s also more or less ceding some control and letting a select group of its membership steer the bow of the ship while also allowing a large part of the constituency to control the stern. I don’t know how this is going to work, apart from some major rocking.

And if you thought that wasn’t crazy enough, check out the third- and second-to-last paragraphs in the press release.

No more immediate eligibility for a transfer under hardship circumstances. That’s not a small thing, but it’s made to be an afterthought here.

Hi, Mom, we’re getting married. And we’re expecting. And we closed on a house. And I got the promotion. Aaaaaaand we’re moving to Brisbane for my job and our new home. 

Bravo.

That’s some spread

by Mike Casazza

Also, WVU is a 23.5 point underdog in the season-opener against Alabama. That’s a lot of points for a neutral-site game in Week One between two Highly Visible teams.

Your thoughts?

Unfortunately, that came out toward the end of today’s Scoop & Score. Good things still happened, including our chat with Sean Keeley. We talked about stoking a WVU v. Iowa State rivalry, how to blog and the forthcoming reunion of The Octonion. Here’s your podcast.