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

Is this thing on?

June 11, 2013 by Mike Casazza

Welcome back. Or welcome me back. Whatever. Vacation is over and it’s only a few more weeks until I have another week off before the start of the season. This last absence was uneventful, which is good, but it comes with a side effect, too.

I have nothing to talk to you about at this moment.

I haven’t typed in a more than week. A lot of last week’s “events” don’t interest me. I was a little surprised when I heard Charles Sims committed to WVU last week. I thought the news was way premature for the former University of Houston running back … and I still haven’t seen where Sims picked WVU or where it was said he picked WVU. Have you?

Anyways, we’re in the dead part of the summer, where news is usually bad news. The Tier 3 bids are due a week from today, but nobody is going to answer questions about that. Football will have player interviews soon, but, goodness, that’s boring. “Is the team coming together? Who’s stepping up?”

This happens every year and we get through it and we’ll get through it again. I still dread it. Meantime, thanks for the asterisks in the getaway post. Should you want to cover anything that wasn’t covered when I was gone, just ask.

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May 31, 2013 by Mike Casazza

And we’re off. I’ll be back a week from Tuesday. I’m not leaving the country or the even the time zone for this foray, so I’ll be able to check in and share some shenanigans. Slow time of the year around here, so thanks for hanging on, especially as I was working on some other things on the side here. Business ought to pick up again soon.

Speaking of business …

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Tada!

May 30, 2013 by Mike Casazza

Hey, remember when on the dawn of spring football I told you that two gentlemen from WVU football’s hierarchy were invited last summer to Florida to help EA Sports reimagine NCAA Football 2014?

And then a day later we took a look at what the two gentlemen, director of football operations Alex Hammond and coordinator of recruiting operations Ryan Dorchester, told EA to spruce up a little bit?

We knew the point of the invitation. We knew the pointers the Mountaineers provided during the visit. We just never knew what EA Sports was going to do with it.

Welp, we do now. One example:

“Previously there really wasn’t much strategy as to when you scheduled a prospect to come on a visit,” Haumiller said. “You did get a boost for bringing a prospect to a rivalry game, but you could bring in anyone you wanted for that game without worrying about how many players at a particular position were coming in that week.”

Hammond and Dorchester explained that the game needed to allow for the difference between a “competitive” visit and a “complementary” visit. Both can affect recruiting and EA Sports was convinced to make the change.

“So now you will want to space out when your quarterbacks visit, as bringing in two or more will cause a ‘competitive’ visit and will lower the number of points that can be awarded for the visit,” Haumiller said. “‘Complementary’ visits occur when you bring in, say, a quarterback, a wide receiver and an offensive lineman in the same week. By helping to give them a feel for who their teammates might be at the positions that are crucial for their success, each of those prospects will receive a boost to the number of points they can earn in a visit.”

An update about Mr. Holton

by Mike Casazza

Yesterday’s outcome for the junior college transfer, which included a no contest plea to a felony and two years of unsupervised probation, was more or less in line with what WVU had been made aware of previously.

Back when WVU was heavily recruiting and ready to offer Holton, the player was told everything was tied to how things ended up in court. Given the discussions I had with some people yesterday, it seem Wednesday’s ruling was not a surprise and that Holton is good to go on that end.

Academics are still an unknown, as his Palm Beach State College coach told me earlier this month. However, that seems to mostly involve completing courses. Granted, he has to get the grades in the classes, but he has to knock out the classes, too. It’s going to take some time and most likely keep him away from WVU for the summer.

In the meantime, here’s Sponge shooting 3s.

SEC with the pec pop

May 29, 2013 by Mike Casazza

… not surprised at all. Not that Les Miles apparently believes 13-1 is unanimous or that the SEC did this. More and more it seems those schools cling to their seven-game home schedule, never mind the dump trucks full of money the league and its members make, and the eight-game conference schedule, complemented nicely by lack of depth in non-conference scheduling.

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Speaking of background …

by Mike Casazza

Jonathan Holton was in court today. He pleaded no contest to one felony charge of video voyeurism and had a second count dismissed. Previously, a separate charge for possession of stolen property was dropped.

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Oliver Luck has a good eye at the plate

by Mike Casazza

It’s convenient right now to watch the parade honoring Randy Mazey’s achievements during his first season. It’s timely to recall people predicted he’d be very good very soon.

“He’s been a successful head coach before and he’s had to do it at a place like Charleston Southern, where they had nothing. That was a worse situation than at West Virginia,” Schlossnagle said. “Then he did it at East Carolina when he helped build a ball park there.

“I’m telling you, West Virginia hit more than a home run. They got a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth in Omaha hiring him.”

But it’s also important to remember that Mazey had, at the minimum, a red flag in his past.

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Tavon Austin Redux?

May 28, 2013 by Mike Casazza

We now that Charlie Weis and Dana Holgorsen had a thing in November. I’m not sure what the precursor was, or that there even was one, but this definitely happened.

What if they’ve buried their hatchets?

After all, is mockery not the most sincere form of flattery? I ask because Kansas is attempting a Tavon Austin impression.

A coaching chameleon after running NFL offenses with the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, but also leading an SEC offense at Florida, the Kansas coach is quite serious about it. He wants to make the Jayhawks’ offense something else by turning running back Tony Pierson into someone else.

“We obviously have big plans for Tony,” Weis said during spring practice. “We didn’t do all of that research on Tavon Austin for nothing.”

Austin, of course, is the dynamic, diminutive slot receiver who dazzled at West Virginia before the St. Louis Rams drafted him eighth in April’s draft. Austin earned many All-America honors the last two seasons for his exploits on offense and special teams, but he earned more fans because of his highlight plays

Pierson is not yet that player, but the rising junior is that type of player.

“When you get someone who is doing something really good and you think you have someone that fits that build, then you go and study them,” Weis said.

I don’t know, maybe flattery is the meanest form of mockery. Whatever the case, WVU’s offense and arguably the most identifiable player from this mini-publicity boom the past two seasons are inspiring teams to steal from the Mountaineers and use it for their own gain.

And while Weis and his coaches will and should be happy to sell this to recruits or to young players on the roster, I’d imagine Holgorsen and his men won’t mind doing the same when they’re in living rooms throughout the Southwest.

Welcome back. Here’s a lot of cash

by Mike Casazza

The spring meetings continue this week with the Big 12 and SEC leadership gathering — the latter serving as something of a trend setter, if not main event. How they treat their conference schedule is going to make some noise, I promise.

You’re also going to see some bowl rumors and dollar signs bandied about, though if you’re a WVU fan, you’d consider that 66 percent of one dollar sign and then 84 percent of another dollar sign. What that means is the Mountaineers still have tow more fraction years remaining before they get to receive a full entitlement, but they still will earn 84 percent of about $30 million come the 2014-15 year, the final year of their tiered transition.

By the time they’re eligible for the complete share, the money is going to be really big and growing.

But because the Big 12’s TV deals with Fox and ESPN are structured to escalate throughout its 13-year lifetime, along with the conference’s share of the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff income, Big 12 schools can expect more – soon. Bowlsby said per-school revenue should push $30 million by 2015, “and we’ll ramp up to the low 40s through the life of the contracts,” Bowlsby said.

Friday Feedback

May 24, 2013 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which sees a reduction in playing time in the near future and is leaving this place … but will also make a comeback.

Brace yourself: 11-day vacation starts May 31. Haven’t figured out how I’ll handle that, but it will be handled. Now, how you handle it, that’s up to you and how you navigate the news that comes while I’m gone.

But that’s not relevant. Let’s enjoy this one while it’s in our system. Good job, good effort this week, capped off by the pretty phenomenal Quest for No. 10 yesterday afternoon.

glibglub said:

No-goalie soccer drills. Winner is first to score 59 or first to make Marlon Leblanc cry.

hershy112 said:

Event 10:

Players will attempt to locate the practice facility and make their way inside to the court. First person to find the court wins.

mfeld said:

Event 10: Draw straight line on basketball. Make ten three point shots in a row. Give basketball to current players and instruct them on how to make ten three pointers in a row. Winner gets to go coach at Michigan.

JC said:

10 – First to find the rear view mirror gets it…

Mack said:

Suggestions for Event #10.

First one to get off the plane and onto the tarmac without falling down and causing a massive black eye?

Person who gives the best 5-minute extemporaneous speech on how much West Virginia University means to the state of West Virginia.

Player that has the best ability to be universally loved by all players and coaches (ranging from highfallutin coaches like Krzyzewski and low brow coaches like Andy Kennedy) yet universally loathed by all fans.

First player to say a variation of, “We’ve learned from our mistakes and now know what we’re doing and will be successful” after a bad practice is immediately cut.

Players who show up to practice early.

Players recruited by John Beilein. (They’ve worked out well for Huggins in the past).

SheikYbuti said:

10. Beginning at Saturday night bar-closing, within a three-block radius of the Suncrest Jimmy John’s, collect as many rear-view mirrors as possible. The vehicles need not be unlocked, or even parked. Bonus points for destruction of signage. Bruce Irvin is ineligible.

Bobby Heenan said:

Great stuff, fake Huggs…though you may want to simplify and work on the unneeded adjectives (ex: using “missed” to describe the threes from Juwan).

Event #10a) Jimmy Johns Free Throws – whoever hits the most free throws during the time it takes for my sandwich to be delivered wins.

Event #10b) Pickup Truck Parallel Parking – Guy who parks the best in a tight spot on High Street wins (difficulty – no rear view mirror).

Event #10c) Sherwin Williams Palate Test – Guy who gets the closest shade on a palate of Sherwin Williams blue/purple to my lips after Gary drives it out of control one-on-three on a break wins.

Shoot4Show said:

Event 10 (Alternative): First player successful in the making of Huggs to use his favorite expletive as a gerund is the recipient in the awarding of the scholarship.

Faux Coach Holgs said:

EVENT 10: Must find out who threw that coin, point him out, and throw him outta here. Cause that’s just stupid.

D.H.P-C.Liver said:

Have Coach scream. Players have to guess whether it is:

A. Player’s name
B. Ref’s name
C. A curse word

overtheSEC said:

Jimmy Johns Sub Eating Contest

My goodness. There is no cherry I can place atop that. I can’t ignore the timing, though. It felt like the bachelor party before the wedding. A few of you have asked about the status of the blog contest we entered. We should know soon.

Announcement. We anticipate naming the winners by the end of May.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, don’t just blow up.

Karl said:

Is it cause for concern that it’s almost June now and we have only two FB “commits” to date?

That’s a good question, because they hit the road pretty hard right after spring football and have nothing to show for it just yet. They had three on this date last year — Hodari Christian, Marcell Lazard and Chavas Rawlins. It usually heats up around June 1. I never knew why. Maybe they’ve made visits or maybe they’re out of school and ready to make the call. Last June 1, 738-pound linebacker Darrien Howard committed June 1 and Tyler Tezeno and Eli Wellman followed by the middle of the month. I think what we have to keep in mind this season is WVU won’t come close to 25 scholarships, which means they’ll have fewer commits, but also a far more certain, uh, screening process. Quality, not quantity, this year.

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