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We ought not be surprised to see No. 1 in blue involved in an impromptu dance-off. If we’ve learned nothing else from Shelton Gibson in his third season with West Virginia it is that he likes to involve himself.
“He’s going to talk to you and he’s going to tell you, ‘I’m going to beat you this whole game, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’d better ask for help,’” WVU cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “That’s Shelton. After the play, he’s going to let you know, ‘I just beat you. You’re lucky the ball wasn’t thrown.’ You’ve got to make sure you dominate Shelton. If you don’t, you’re going to hear it the whole game.”
But there’s much more to Gibson and his role as the most explosive player in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
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Much has been and ought to be made about West Virginia’s success recruiting south Florida, and certainly that’s relevant this week. The Mountaineers and Miami go nose-to-nose for some of the same players every year. Each side wins and loses.
But WVU has done well in the central part of the state in recent years with Karl Joseph and K.J. Dillon being the two most emphatic examples. This season we’ve seen bright flashes and brief glimpses of two possible successors on that side of the ball: Defensive end Adam Shuler II and nose guard Alec Shriner.
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News? Not a whole lot. You may or may not know about this, and you may not care, but the media operation is a bit different this year. WVU practiced Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The head coach was available the first day, and then there was a day for pre-selected players and the coordinator on defense and then on offense. There was practice today, but it was shuttered. On the other days, you were welcome to watch the first 30 minutes of practice, but you could not take photos or videos or report on what you saw. Stretching and the like was open season.
So, yes, there have been but whispers about what the Mountaineers have been up to, and anything anyone has been saying seems to echo everything everyone was saying last week.
The news that exists for WVU is indeed good news. No players are ineligible for the game, and according to Dana Holgorsen, the team GPA is the best its been in his tenure.
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West Virginia practices today in Orlando. Coach Dana Holgorsen will speak at 4:30 p.m., and it is there and then that we can expect to learn about personnel developments, if there are any. Holgorsen said last week one or two players could be ineligible. I’ll come back here and update you with news, if there is any. Before then, a home basketball game and the almost-end of the non-conference schedule.
The Mountaineers were No. 58 in Thursday’s RPI and would have been far lower if not for the win earlier this month at Virginia, which has no other losses and is No. 13 in the RPI. There are only five other teams with 10 or more wins and a lower RPI — Virginia Tech, the Big 12’s Kansas State, New Mexico State, Rutgers and the Big 12’s Texas Tech.
WVU’s strength of schedule is at No. 213, ahead of Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas Tech in the Big 12, and the only other 10-win teams below the Mountaineers are the same ones that trail in the RPI. But WVU’s opponent winning percentage is .440, and that’s No. 270 out of 351 teams and ahead of 10-win Kansas State, New Mexico State, Rutgers and Texas Tech.
“I like the competition, I like games that are neck-and-neck,” senior guard Tarik Phillip said. “To be honest, I would have liked a tougher schedule, but there’s a reason for everything.”
The Mountaineers, who have Big 12 play interrupted by a Jan. 28 home game against Texas A&M (8-3) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, have an otherwise impressive resume.
“Last year, we were developed but not as fast as we were this year,” Ahmad said. “I think we have a lot more guys who know what they’re doing.”
The game against possibly game Northern Kentucky (9-3) is at 4 p.m., and @derekredd has you covered. After that? Not a whole lot. I’ll update this space with stories and developments, but let’s go do Christmas with our friends and family. I’ll be discussing the Edwin Encarnacion deal with anyone who’ll listen. Then I’ll reappear again Monday and take you through the game and all the way to Stillwater for the opening of Big 12 play.
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“I’m not sure what to capitalize on yet,” Repchak said. “I’ve been looking forward to the West Virginia fan base since maybe November-ish, when we knew something like this was possible based on watching previous games. Me just being present in the college football Twitter world, I knew that it was going to be a vibrant and colorful fan base that was going to make for some interesting conversations.”
The Russell Athletic Bowl account was born in April 2009 as the Champs Sports Bowl account. It was not the first of its kind, but it is perhaps the best and easily among the most popular. It has more than 26,200 followers, which bests the Orange, Fiesta and Sugar bowls and barely trails the Cotton. Those are New Year’s Six games.
Repchak takes this — well, he doesn’t take much about it seriously, which is why it works so well. But he’s committed to the project, to why it works and to the style he and his teammates have established that has been studied and used as the model for so many other games now.
A few years back, a writer covering a regular-season UCF-Houston game noted bowl scouts from the Fiesta and Russell Athletic bowls were at the game. “Yeah and SOMEONE didn’t bring enough chips,” Repchak replied.
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A source told the Gazette-Mail Gibson will make $850,000 in 2017, $900,000 in 2018 and $950,000 in 2019. He was about to enter the final season of a three-year contract worth $2.1 million, and his 2017 salary was set to drop from $750,000 to $700,000.
“Dana and I have worked closely together on Tony’s new contract,” Director of Athletics Shane Lyons said. “It was important for us to secure Tony as our defensive coordinator for next year and beyond. Our football program has great momentum going, and we look forward to it continuing in the years to come.”
It’s the fourth amendment to his initial contract. That’s five contracts since returning before the 2013 season, and he’s going to average $900,000 a year after starting out at $250,00 in 2013. I need his agent. I’m tired of unloading the dishwasher.
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Source tells @GazMailSports West Virginia and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson have agreed to a three-year contract worth $2.7 million.
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We're gonna see this in a game soon. If Chase Harler can do it, why can't Beetle? https://t.co/aeCPZc41yL
The redshirt freshman, who missed last season with a torn ACL, has told us before he can dunk. He trained himself to do it when he was in high school, and jumping, dunking and landing was a significant moment during his offseason rehabilitation. He aims to do it in a game this season. He missed in the layup line Tuesday, though not for lack of altitude. He later dunked with the help of a soft toss.
“I’m going to tell you. When I was born, I was a premature baby. I wasn’t supposed to live. I know I could fit inside your palm. So my grandma gave me the nickname ‘Beetle’ because they’re small and strong. I lived through it and I’m here,” he said.
“I didn’t think it was going to stick with me. I thought it would just go away after elementary school or whatever, but it stuck with me. Now everybody calls me Beetle. When I come out, my name on the video screen says Beetle. Nobody calls me James.”
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There are some hallmarks so far this season for No. 11 West Virginia, which improved to 10-1 for the third straight campaign Tuesday and which on Friday can win 11 games before Christmas for the second time in the Bob Huggins Era. Forgetting the stats and the perceived improvements, I think what matters most is that with two exceptions — the loss to Temple and the win against Virginia — the Mountaineers have not been threatened.
Nine games have been decided by between 27 and 59 points. The scoring margin is the largest in the country. Remember, this is a team with a bunch of new players who have had to play.
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I’ll start out by saying this: The numbers, which you know well that I ordinarily want to believe in, have not liked West Virginia for most of the season and have been inaccurate for most of the season. But, whew, the numberslove Miami over the Mountaineers in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
