Brandon Hogan, de facto hero of WVU’s rather thin corps of cornerbacks, appears to have been relieved of his duty for the time being. The soon-to-be senior from a town in northern Virginia was cited — read: not arrested — after 1 a.m. Sunday for public urination and disorderly conduct.
Bad move, but even worse timing.
Continue reading…
Two, maybe three former WVU players will be drafted this week — Reminder: The draft begins Thursday and ends Saturday … seriously — with Selvish Capers expected to go before Jarrett Brown and Alric Arnett perhaps getting a late-round phone call.
And yet back home, as the current Mountaineers wring hands over depth concerns at running back and receiver, it’s remembered the two, maybe three could actually be four, maybe five.
So the Big Ten+? is expanding and now accelerating the process. Not that that’s a terribly big surprise. The expansion idea has been moving along for a while and, I’ve been told, it’s always a step or two ahead of what the public knows. And now the the window in which the conference will expand suddenly shrinks. A decision is going to come sooner rather than later.
And what will that decision be? Seems it can go in different directions. There may be a 14- or 16-team Big Ten. It may be a 12-team Big Ten. It just isn’t going to be an 11-team Big Ten. There may not be a Big East …
Continue reading…
Football recruiting’s spring evaluation perdiod began Wednesday and schools have from April 15 to May 31 to spend four weeks visiting recruits to evaluate either athletic or academic ability.
April 15 was also two days after news of that little NCAA inquiry seeped out into the public. So I asked Bill Stewart if when the time came to begin the four weeks — that’d be May 1 — he might use the visits or the phone calls to make sure the kids weren’t under the impression the NCAA is specifically investigating the Mountaineers.
If you read some headlines or scrolls at the bottom of a cable channel or three or just a story by a misinformed person, you might get that impression. And face it: Some alternate version of the true story is going to be used against WVU in recruiting. If WVU is to wait until the end of spring practice to disseminate the true story — there’s no other choice, really — there’s a certain certainty someone is going to sully the Mountaineers first.
Well, Stewart wouldn’t comment specifically — he can’t; no one can — and in general terms wasn’t very worried and seemed pretty confident things would blow over and sort themselves out by the time the more intense recruiting period rolls around.
I’ll admit, I was suspicious. But then again, why would he worry when three days later you’ll host a gaggle of junior prospects and throw this piece up on the stadium’s big screen?
While I’ll sometimes dabble in it, I try not to subscribe to hyperbole. If you follow or cover WVU football, that’s not an easy thing to do. Bill Stewart really likes to make points obvious and emphatic — and if you’re the head coach of a program with fans as curious and hungry as WVU’s, that’s not a bad habit.
Still, sometime between the second “I do” and the first spill Saturday, I checked my email on my phone and caught this from Oll Stewart.
On Geno Smith
Today was as good of a day as I have seen the Mountaineer quarterback throw the ball in pass skeleton in a long, long time. In the soon to be 11 years I have been here, Geno was hot. He was hitting the target, his reads were good and his timing was good. He just looked really good.
That wasn’t obese hyperbole. It was an excited, though measured message, I thought, almost as if to make a point strongly, though not so strong that someone like, well, me would immediately dismiss it.
I texted someone I trust for a more even review. Reply: “Legit.”
Was this person talking about Stewart’s assessment or Eu’s performance? Not sure for I became involved in a complex prank a short while later and never sent a follow-up text.
But does it matter?
Continue reading…
It appears the ACL tear and MCL sprain haven’t dampened his spirits as you might imagine. Not even close, in fact. He’s excited about rehab and little things like “the swelling’s gone down a lot.” Butler also crutched out to the mound and threw out the first pitch at the Little League opener in Bridgeport.
The kid’s spirit is undefeated. Maybe it’s his choice of teams. He’s rocking a flat-brimmed Kansas City Royals hat, which is exactly what you’d expect.
“I always root for the underdog, no matter what,” Butler said. “Any team having like a 10-102 season, I like them. I’m willing to watch them play and hopefully catch them when they’re winning.”
Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which was hoping for a two-week hitting streak — provided last week was a hit — but will strike out looking today.
I’m traveling to my sister’s wedding in Richmond, Va. I made FF plans, honest. I stopped home in Manassas last night, where they sell beer at the mini golf course and, long story short, if I don’t get grandma in the car by 10 a.m., there’s going to be trouble.
Enjoy the weekend!
Pretty neat story about West Virginia, WVU and the Raleigh County mining tragedy. It goes above and actually beyond the way the Mountaineers will remember those who passed away.
Shortly after Stewart’s players signed the jersey, the coach announced that the Mountaineers would wear a helmet in the Blue-Gold spring game with a decal to honor the 29 miners who died in the Upper Big Branch disaster.
The decal will be a white circle with a black No. 29 in the middle of the circle. It will be worn in the spring game and throughout the season.
“We will wear that proudly in honor of those men,” Stewart said after his practice. “We dedicate the season to the miners.”
That apparently included Terence Kerns, late of WVU. You need to specify because with the draft around the corner and the former Mountaineers running back available, NFL teams haven’t exactly heard of the 5-foot-11, 244-pound Kerns.
“His workout numbers look pretty good,” Hortiz said. “Having not seen him, it’s hard to comment on his potential or ability.”
Continue reading…
