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

Dana Holgorsen has the secret to success

April 20, 2011 by Mike Casazza

Pretty simple: “It’s the difference between lethargic,” Holgorsen said, “and vivaciousness.”

Five guesses about WVU football in 2011

April 19, 2011 by Mike Casazza

I’ve been thinking and talking about this a good bit lately and I figure it could be pretty fun to get it on paper Web page now and perhaps revisit it and track it as we get closer to and then into the football season.

Let’s look at five little areas that could define the success of your football Mountaineers in the fall.

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WVU gets OK State OC, OK State gets WVU target

by Mike Casazza

Widely shared was the belief Philip Jurick, a well-traveled Tennessean, would sign with West Virginia’s basketball program during this signing period and complete a recruiting class that would grow to eight names with his inclusion.

Well, Jurick, he of stops at Tennessee and Chattanooga State, where he blocked 9.5 shots per game last season, is headed to Stillwater, Okla.

The Mountaineers still want and need someone with size and skills — the combination must exist — and would like that person to be a part of the summer tour of Europe, so sooner is better than later.

Names?

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In which Oll Stewart is second President of the United States

by Mike Casazza

Long live the history buff, who’s been reading a John Adams biography lately.

“I know how much abuse he took when he was over in France and England,” Stewart says. “His own country just ripped him for 10 solid years. His own friends turned on him. But the deal is, he stayed the course. He was chastised and abused, but they all came back around.

“It’s pretty interesting.”

So was that. I hadn’t heard or been a party to a quote like that from Stewart on the subject since the wheels started turning in Deember. Time has passed, though, and maybe time has introduced new and useful elements.

Or maybe it’s because that was part of Stewart’s visit with ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett last week, which included some face-to-face time with the two, a note like that and a gem like this.

But Stewart isn’t sure he’s done with football yet.

“I’m only going to be 59 this year,” he said. “I was born to coach. I was born to lead.”

Don’t look now …

April 18, 2011 by Mike Casazza

… but West Virginia and heretofore alleged occupant of the hot seat Greg Van Zant are tied for second place in the Big East and just two games out of first. The Mountaineers just won two of three at Notre Dame — this never happens … for any WVU team.

“This was a huge weekend for us to win two out of three. We were fortunate,” coach Greg Van Zant said. “Their pitching is really good and to get to play a game on national television, our guys were really excited. Any time you can win one on the road you’ve done pretty well, and to win two out of three, I’m really proud of our guys.”

WVU (22-15, 8-4) has the third-best winning percentage in the league. The Mountaineers rank highly in significant areas and are doing this with offense, as usual, as well as defense. Even better, perhaps, is the schedule. Not only have they already played USF and Louisville, but they don’t play first-place UConn or fellow tied-for-secodn St. John’s.

Sodexo is ready when you are, BoG

by Mike Casazza

WVU’s official concessionaire can be ready to get people drunk in time for the season opener Sept. 3 against Marshall, when Sodexo believes everyone will be cool and calm.

Sodexo already sells beer in the general concession area at approximately five college stadiums and in the private suite and club sections of nearly 20 college stadiums, spokeswoman Monica Zimmer said.

“College campus partners tell us they see fewer incidents when our staff serve alcohol because we create a safer environment through staff training and controls,” Zimmer wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

This offense looks simple and, apparently, it is

by Mike Casazza

Saturday’s soggy scrimmage at Mountaineer Field was hard to read, especially for the first one. Surely everyone would have preferred sunshine, no wind and a temperature in the 70s, but WVU did what it could with what it had.

There was an inauspicious start, some early frustrations, performance compromised by the conditions and finally a breakthrough. In the end, there was an acceptable amount of errors and a clear understanding of how the weather wrinkled some plans, but Bill Stewart was nevertheless pleased with the day and the progress.

And once again, the players spoke about how palatable this offense is and, at last and in fun and informative detail, why they believe they’ve developed so quickly and in such depth.

“This is a lot easier,” McCartney said. “With Coach Mullen, we had a lot more plays and we were changing things up during the week based on the defense we were playing. Coach Holgorsen has just one mindset – we do what we want to and we role with it.”

In addition to a thinner playbook, Holgorsen offers another significant advantage.

“We’ve only got to learn one position,” slot receiver Tavon Austin said. “Last year, I had to know three positions on the field and I had to know every route. Now I’m only repping one. It’s not that hard to learn one position.”

No Commodores for Casteel, who commandeers pay raise

by Mike Casazza

OK, perhaps commandeers is a strong word because Jeff Casteel didn’t rush into anyone’s office and demand more money, but he was the general for one of the nation’s very best defense last season and has, through the years, been admired and awarded around the country.

And for that, that ability to be just generally and consistently good at what he does, Casteel was given a brand-new, three-year contract after a subtle temptation was offered by Vanderbilt and its new coach, James Franklin.

Casteel, 49 and headed toward his 10th season as the coordinator of WVU’s 3-3-5 odd stack defense, had a two-year contract through June 2012 that paid $295,268 annually.

Had is the key word there.

Now, after again having one of the nation’s top defenses in 2010 – and following a job offer to be Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator that the Paden City native turned down – Casteel is working with a new three-year contract at $400,000 annually.

That keeps Casteel as the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the Big East.

That last part is significant because athletic director Oliver Luck is image-conscious. He speaks of how peers do things and of his desire for his athletic department to be in line, if not in the lead. The Mountaineers are there.

Keeping Casteel  in place and seemingly in peace does a lot of things for the long term and that, of course, matters for WVU in the Big East, where it wants to be and look the best.

It’s also a brown paper bag for those hyperventilating about relationships and perceptions among the staff. The new staff members were brought in and given two-year contracts at or above $200,000 — and that includes Daron Roberts. All teh defensive staffers are above $200,000, but they’ve been here and done things previously.

Dana Holgorsen is going to be the head coach in 2012 and that’s a pretty large explanatoin for how he’s to make $750,000 this season, but there was also a pretty large gap between that and the more-accomplished-here Casteel.

That gap is narrowed now and, at the least, it looks like there is a genuine effort to make this look right and work right.

Friday Feedback

April 15, 2011 by Mike Casazza

(Sorry for the delay. Football practice in the morning, where we learned Brad Starks is out 12 weeks after surgery Friday morning to repair a sprain/separation of the AC joint in his right shoulder. Significant blow to the already-thin group of receivers, but also a significant opportunity for players to emerge.)

Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which is eight terms into a six-month contract. If you undertand that, you’re familiar with this Brady Ackerman fellow, who arrived in January and was gone in March. And if you didn’t understand that, I suppose that’s a pretty good point to discuss today.

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Selvish Capers pinching pennies as lockout lingers

April 14, 2011 by Mike Casazza

Get to know the guy you once knew as West Virginia’s former starting right tackle:

At the other end of the NFL’s financial spectrum are players such as Selvish Capers, who took home $53,000 during his 20 weeks on the Washington Redskins’ practice squad last season and about $29,500, after taxes, as a signing bonus last June.

“It’s good money, but it’s not ‘all that money’ like people think,” the 6-foot-4, 325-pound offensive tackle says.

Mind you, the longevity for a practice squad player is actually not very long at all. Ideally, he’d go to camp, showcase his improvement and get on the 53-man roster. For a guy like him, a lot of the favorable impressions are made away from the camp and in the workouts players are allowed to participate in during the offseason, but are for the time being, non-existent.

Capers also has considerable competition at his position and he’s going to have to wait to impress and then impress right away.

Trent Williams is entrenched at left tackle. But veteran right tackles Jammal Brown and Stephon Heyer are due to become free agents whenever a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. Capers sees this offseason as a prime opportunity.

“This offseason is crucial for anybody with something to prove,” Capers says. “I’ve got to show more than I did last year. I’m eager for them to get this taken care of. I’m having dreams about playing football. I’m trying to do whatever I need to do to make this team, and work my way into the rotation. Whenever they say come back to work, I’m going to show them I’ve been working.”