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

Much remains unknown about WVU defense, which is fine

April 25, 2012 by Mike Casazza

In fact, those Mountaineers would prefer to maintain some degree of mystery about who they are and what they do. The spring game accomplished just that.

It was very plain and toned down — Aside: TCU Coach Gary Patterson said Monday he watched the game live … and I highly doubt as a fan — but the defense did move around Saturday and change its appearances and essentially try to take away whatever it might give away before the snap.

Just a little.

As the package expands and the players get more comfortable and the coaches focus on who does what and what works best, figure you’ll see more of that but in more expansive fashion. It’s going to be aggressive and, if you take the offense’s word for it, it’s going to be confounding.

“If you watch closely, they play around with the edges and bring and drop both sides really well,” Dawson said. “In my opinion, their defense is more symmetrical with what they do. They can bring either side and you never know, which messes up your zone blocking and messes up your protection.

“At times, it really and truly comes down to a guessing game. A lot of times, you’ve got to guess whether they’re bringing pressure and whether it’s coming from the field or the boundary, and they make it look really similar.”

Curry v. Irvin: Who ya got?

by Mike Casazza

The NFL draft begins tomorrow and I’d say it is extremely unlikely that Vinny Curry or Bruce Irvin hear their names called because Thursday is reserved for the first round.

Now, Irvin aggressively begs to differ, doubts that “there are 32 players who are better than me in this country,” and is dying to prove it. Curry would like to disagree, too. He is probably what you’d call more accomplished and he has more polish — and Irvin would nod his head, though Irvin’s success with such limited experience and the subsequent potential is what makes him so confident.

Still, Curry had the full prep and college career and he, too, overcame life’s difficulties, like Irvin, to get to where he is. In truth, he seems to project better at the next level.

“I love Vinny Curry,” McShay said. “Team captain, all he had to overcome at home, his mom dies of cancer at the age of 50, he battles back from that, he doesn’t have a whole lot financially and he’s still bringing people to practice and donating his time to people.

“All the little things he’s gone through and how important football is to him, I don’t see any way he doesn’t succeed at the next level. Maybe he’s a third-round talent, but I’d feel great about drafting Vinny Curry in the second round.”

Still, Friday looks to be their day and they’re likely going to be picked in close proximity, which is interesting because they’re at least comparable. For our purposes, they’re in West Virginia. They have the same job. They have futures in the league. Curry has the more complete background. Irvin has better physical tools. He seems to do the rush end thing a little better — but not by so much that you couldn’t argue the other way.

Both may be situational or one-down players in the league, but, man, isn’t this a passing league now? Don’t you need to put the quarterback on the ground or put that thought in his mind? Indeed, and as one wordsmith says, “That’s why guys like Irvin and Curry are crucial in today’s pro game. The rush-in’s are coming, the rush-in’s are coming …” (Don’t look … one guess who wrote that!)

Anyhow, who goes first? Curry or Irvin?

Caption this!

April 24, 2012 by Mike Casazza

There’s your football coach at Monday’s appearance at Charleston Department Store. And there’s bound to be something funny to say about this scene, right?

 

This Mack Brown fella seems interesting

by Mike Casazza

Everyone is still in the getting-to-know-you phase as TCU and WVU enter the Big 12 and the conference accepts them and first-year coach Charlie Weis at Kansas. So forgive Mack Brown, the Texas coach, for his need to get up to speed on his WVU facts and figures.

“We played West Virginia in the Gator Bowl when I was at North Carolina. Don Nehlen was the coach. You go back, West Virginia played for a national championship, I think ’90 or ’91 (actually ’88, but what’s a couple of years between friends?). I think they played Notre Dame … and I don’t think they won.”

He was certainly right on both those counts.

“Don Nehlen is a great coach. Rich (Rodriguez) did a great job when he was there. Now Dana is doing a great job. Just look at their bowl game with Clemson. They always run (make that always ran under Nehlen and Rodriguez), they play an exciting brand of offense because of their speed and they’ve always been physical on defense because they get a lot of those kids from the Pittsburgh-West Virginia-North Carolina area (North Carolina, huh?).

“They’ve done a tremendous job in the BCS. They beat Georgia a couple of years ago and this year look what they did with Clemson.

“They come into our league as a team to be reckoned with immediately,” Brown acknowledged.

Pulled it out of the fire at the end there, didn’t he?

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Meet WVU’s admittedly reckless offensive coordinator

by Mike Casazza

Shannon Dawson isn’t new to the job or new to WVU, but he is WVU’s new offensive coordinator. And in so many ways, he is just as important as is Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Joe Madsen … you get the picture.

And he’s got a little Devil-may-care about him, which means he’s probably exactly who and what Dana Holgorsen wants in the box with the power to call plays and direct the offense in his hands.

“He’s more fast pace, spread-it-out, throw-it-every-down than I am,” said Coach Dana Holgorsen, who doubled as the coordinator last season, but handed off to Dawson in the offseason. “I’m a little more conservative as the head coach. He doesn’t really care.”

One guy who’s known and admired the other for many years can say that in jest, but there’s a lot of truth in that, too.

“I think that’s pretty accurate – I call it a little bit more reckless than he does,” Dawson said. “He’s a lot more conservative than I am, but everyone’s got their own personality, their own way of doing things.”

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14 + 2 = 2012

April 23, 2012 by Mike Casazza

Saturday’s spring game was what you thought it was with the surging defense controlling most of the day in a 43-34 win — and that includes an offensive touchdown on the third down after time had expired.

Truth is, defenses usually catch on during the final few days of the 15 spring practices, which is what happened at WVU, because things get to be pretty familiar and even tedious. And then, in the spring game, the offense is stripped down so it doesn’t give much away on video for opponents to study, and that just makes it easier for the defense.

Still the offense is fine and will be fine and even better the next time you see it. The core is there and the core is good and the core isn’t going to change much. Oh, it will and it will matter because the changes will be deemed necessary, but there just won’t be much. Not in scheme and not in personnel. So says Dana Holgorsen.

“We’re playing with a whole bunch of people who won’t be playing in games,” Holgorsen said. “The guys in there? If we’re playing with them in the fall, we’re not going to win.”

No need to name names, but check out a box score, remember how the quality of play deteriorated after a certain point, witness an offensive line with tackles at guards and guards at tackle and center and you know what he means.

Sometimes in the spring you shake the tree and a treat falls into your lap, sometimes a kid, like a Jordan Thompson, is as good as everyone hoped, but WVU already had offensive talent and quality trumps quantity.

“There’s a collection of about 16 people that are actually going to play in a game,” Holgorsen said. “We’ve got an idea who probably 14 of them are I think once we figure out who the other two are, we’ll be all right offensively.”

Sixteen! And not only that, but 16 with 14 down and two to go. Look, these are soft numbers. There may be 14 and there may be 16 right now. There may be room for 17 or 18. No one who can help is going to be turned away just because Dana maxed some imaginary roster cap. These are all approximates. He said “about” and he said “probably,” but he also said 14 and he said 16, so let’s run with this: Who are the 14 and who helps WVU’s offense get to 16 for Sept. 1?

April 20, 2012 by Mike Casazza

And it’s official. Just to be clear, he’s not dead. We did lose a great one today. Argyle day is May 12. I will not debate this. And it goes without saying, but I’ll say it: I’m looking forward to mailing it in for the next three weeks. What’s he going to do? Fire me?

Friday Feedback

by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which recants, to some extent, the  previous “spring game doesn’t really matter” message. I used to think that. I still do, but not as much after talking to Connor Arlia.

You remember him from the New Year’s Eve Jet Ski accident. Well, he’d really like to change that and it’s fitting that Saturday’s Gold-Blue Game is where it could all begin because the spring game is where Arlia got his start last season.

THIS IS WHAT he’s been waiting for. Arlia came to WVU because he wanted to make a name for himself. He was a straight A student at Madonna, the MVP of the North-South Game in 2011 and the winner of West Virginia’s 2010 Wendy’s High School Heisman. He talked to Harvard and Penn about playing in the Ivy League. Robert Morris, Carnegie Mellon and Davidson had partial scholarships to offer.

Arlia was invited to WVU’s spring game last year and talked with Dawson afterward. On the drive home, Arlia told Mike and Mary Beth he wanted to go after his dream and play in Division I. He was eventually invited to WVU as a preferred walk-on and the Mountaineers thought enough of him last year that he didn’t redshirt.

He’s back to proving himself again, using his hands, routes and effort to become known as the walk-on who made it, as opposed to the walk-on from the Jet Ski accident.

“That’s absolutely what drives me,” he said. “The next big thing for me is performing in the spring game and making my family proud, making an impact for the team and making the players and the coaches proud by playing as hard as I can.”

Some housekeeping before we begin and end an abbreviated week:

> A bunch of book events are lined up for the weekend and it begins with an appearance at Barnes & Noble at University Town Center. Lots of books! Look, an end cap! And signage …

Good luck to Scott Appleton Saturday … you’re gonna need it!

From there, it’s off to Morgantown Brewing Company for the Alumni Association University Chapter’s Books for Brews shindig. Bring a new children’s book and get a free beer. Bring $15 and get a copy of “Waiting for the Fall.”

For some reason, the Alumni Association asked me to speak and do a Q&A session at 10 a.m. Saturday for the Alumni Leaders Institute meeting at the alumni center. I’ll chase that with the Fishbowl from 1-3 p.m. and then Town Hill from 3-5 p.m. Then comes the actual spring game at 6 p.m., if they’ll have me.

I hope to catch some of you at some of those events. If not, I’m going to float around the parking lots for a bit after the ALI thing and after Town Hill and probably again after the “game.” At any point, you might see someone slinging copies of the book, too. Feel free to stop that person.

> If you can’t make it and if you’re interested in the actual football part of this, I have a suggestion. Remember last week we discussed radio options for out-of-towners? Set your ears on U92 and “Touchdown City Tailgate.”

WWVU-FM (U92) is excited to debut their new Mountaineer Football pregame show, The Touchdown City Tailgate before every WVU football game. Created by U92’s Football Beat Reporter, Greg Madia, the U92 Sports Staff is proud to have the next staple on game day in Morgantown.

The show will debut prior to the annual Gold-Blue game, starting at 2 PM. During the regular season, the show will be live outside the WVU Erickson Alumni Center. The “TCT” will air three hours prior to kickoff and go off the air an hour before game time. The show will bring fans extensive Mountaineer Football coverage – it’ll include full breakdown of the day’s game, analysis of the Big 12 conference, interviews with players, coaches and special live guests who will appear on site. The biggest difference between the “TCT” and other Mountaineer football coverage is that it will get the fans involved. Fans can ask host Joe Mitchin, beat reporter Greg Madia and their panel of experts different questions related to WVU, the Big 12 or the national landscape in college football. There also will be some fan trivia. The bottom line the “TCT” is a product for the fans before they head into Milan Puskar Stadium.

Fans can listen to the show on 91.7 FM in Morgantown or online at u92.wvu.edu. Right now fans can follow the show @TouchdownCityTG on Twitter and “Like” the Touchdown City Tailgate on Facebook.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, don’t be a dope.

glibglub said:

Speaking of the spring game, I saw where it’s going to be available on ESPN3.

Tis. I have no idea how one calls this “game,” though. Good luck.

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About Saturday …

April 19, 2012 by Mike Casazza

“Something festive more than anything. I would challenge you to find one coach across the country that gets a kick out of the spring game. You got to do it. We want to do it for the fans. The players get a kick out of it, because they get to put their nice uniforms on, and they go out there in front of a bunch of people and try to make a play. It’s the end of spring, and you want to get out healthy. We want it to be festive, and we want everyone to kind of get a glimpse of the younger kids more than anything.”

Check that out. Does that make you uncontrollably excited about the spring game? Does that make you want to brave the weather and press your luck against a 60 percent chance of rain to see a game that’s supposed to be for you, but is instead really about letting also-rans get some burn while getting Geno and Tavon and Stedman on and off the field with haste and without incident?

Look, some spring games are just terrible. (“Jeremy Johnson, playing for Team Red, completed 7 of 17 passes for 55 yards with a pass tipped twice and then intercepted by Bridge City product Colby Carpenter.”) But some can be fun if you try to make them fun.

WVU will have, as best as I can tell, a situational scrimmage that will get “distorted very quickly.” Going from 22,000 last year to 30,000 Saturday is going to be harder than that Jimmy Johns-spoiling Georgetown-Pitt sequence in 2009.

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Dilemma: Recruit another IR or another Tavon?

April 18, 2012 by Mike Casazza

Pretty much any offense like WVU’s can recruit inside receivers who are going to get the ball on the run and have the skills and the speed to do something with it. Fewer offenses are like WVU’s and have the plays or the capabilities to feature and even enhance a talent like Tavon Austin.

Simply put, he’ll be one of the better ball-in-hand players in the country next season and the Mountaineers are absolutely going to make the most of Austin and his gifts while they can.

But when the music stops and Austin is doing his thing in the NFL, well, what then at WVU?

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