The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board

(A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church, in Colombia, S.C. A visitation will immediately follow at the church gymnasium.)

Here’s a statement from WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck on the passing of Jim Carlen. I didn’t get it in my story, but I do think it’s worth sharing:

“The entire Mountaineer family is saddened to learn of the passing of former football coach Jim Carlen. I met him for the first time in April, 2011 when he came back to campus and participated in our former coaches’ roundtable. What a special day it was to have him along with Bobby Bowden, Frank Cignetti and Don Nehlen all on campus at one time, and it certainly was a day that I will never forget. Jim was very instrumental in the overall growth of our football program, and even after he left, he still remained interested in the Mountaineers. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Carlen family and friends.”

I added the bold print to emphasize a point. When I was writing my book and then when I was talking about Carlen yesterday with people who knew him so well, it seemed clear to me, and to us, that Carlen got the WVU football program pointed toward where you find it today.

“He really set the tone for where things are today,” said former WVU running back Garrett Ford. “He started offseason programs that we never had and that were totally new to us. His recruiting was different from what we were used to. He placed an emphasis on special teams that we never experienced.

“He was a very good person who I think came to Morgantown at a time in America where there was a transition taking place racially throughout the country.”

Not sure what it means, or that it ought to mean anything, but Carlen was the fella who helped WVU out of the Southern Conference so that it might play as an independent and schedule tougher opponents, recruit better players, draw bigger crowds, get into shinier bowl games and make more money. This sounds familiar, right?

Today is the first day of the Big 12’s two-day media extravaganza. It feels like there’s a certain symmetry there.

He is Chidoziem Ezemma, a supposed pass rushing specialist on West Virginia’s defense, and he is arguably the most put-together player on the roster. He stands 6 feet, 2 inches tall and has zoomed from around 200 pounds when he arrived on campus last summer to 228 on Wednesday. Ezemma says he can be at an acceptable 240 “in no time,” which has to unnerve some of WVU’s offensive tackles as camp approaches.

This is what happens when you eat “big” six times a day, though Ezemma has to do it the walk-on way. His food source is Kroger and some of the more economical options. His scholarshipped buddies get the free daily meals at the Puskar Center.

For now, he’s a backup at that hybrid linebacker/defensive end position in Joe DeForest’s defense. Who knows? He might be a guy who puts his hand on the ground and gets after Landry Jones, Seth Doege et al. A redshirt junior, a Division II transfer, the inspired son of Nigerian immigrants, Ezemma believes he was wronged during the recruiting process and is working to make it right.

“When you’re back in Nigeria, everyone wants to come to the U.S.A. so they can make it for themselves,” said Ezemma, one of five children. “The USA is a place of opportunity. For (Ezemma’s parents), they took a big leap. They came here for college and from what I know, they didn’t have much money. My dad used to drive a taxi for money.

“But what they really preached to us was school, school, school. I knew I had a dream, so I said I was going to go after it.”