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Old 04-08-2010, 09:28 AM   #11
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NOTES — Wide receivers Logan Heastie and Deon Long were not with the team for the first practice and apparently are not going to play. Coach Bill Stewart said he would welcome them back but they better be ready to push a 45-pound weight and run the stadium steps all spring … Three players — fullback Ryan Clark, cornerback Brandon Hogan and defensive back Brantwon Bowser — spent the entire two-hour practice running the stadium steps, Stewart saying they had not met his physical conditioning requirements. Hogan and Clarke are starters … Starting defensive tackle Scooter Berry is not practicing as he recovers from surgery while wide receiver Brad Starks is practicing but slowed by an ankle sprain while playing basketball.
http://timeswv.com/wvu_sports/x16877...le-at-QB-or-WR
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Old 04-14-2010, 06:38 AM   #12
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RichRod Violations while at WV?

I've been at Pitt all day doing interviews and watching practice, so I haven't had a chance yet to comment on Mark Schlabach's story about NCAA investigators looking into potential rules violations at West Virginia. They are looking at things that happened under former coach Rich Rodriguez, according to Schlabach.

Now, the information is sketchy at this point. West Virginia officials aren't saying much, and Rodriguez declined to comment on a Big Ten coaches' conference call today.

But if you're a Mountaineers fan, can you really say you're surprised? If the NCAA is looking at potential practice time violations by Rodriguez at Michigan, wouldn't you expect the investigators to see if the same things occurred at his previous coaching stop?

We don't know how serious any of this is, but any time the NCAA shows up on your campus asking questions, it's nothing to be taken lightly. After all, the NCAA has shown that it will punish schools and not individuals. So even if it finds that Rodriguez was some sort of rogue operator, West Virginia could suffer potential penalties because of it.

It's too early to say whether that's a real concern here. More than one wag has suggested that maybe Rodriguez did West Virginia a favor by shredding everything before he left Morgantown.

Speaking of which, I'll be in Morgantown tomorrow. I bet folks there won't be too excited to talk about this subject.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post...ing-around-wvu
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Old 04-14-2010, 08:29 PM   #13
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Old 04-14-2010, 08:35 PM   #14
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Old 05-03-2010, 10:59 AM   #15
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The West Virginia spring game was a good, old-fashioned blowout.

That's because coach Bill Stewart stacked the Blue team with the starters and most of the key reserves. Not surprisingly, then, that loaded side beat the Gold squad 38-0.

Coley White played quarterback for both sides as Geno Smith sat out because of his foot injury. White, who had a really strong spring, went 16-for-25 for 162 yards and three scores while playing for the Blue side. He was 6-for-11 for 27 yards and two interceptions for the Blue, which managed only 47 yards on 27 plays against the first-string defense.

Stewart praised White and said he wants Pat White's younger brother "to keep his hand in the quarterback position" this fall when Smith returns and two promising freshmen arrive. White will likely be a slot receiver once fall camp begins.

The fans got to see the Mountaineers stars shine, as Noel Devine had 73 yards on 12 carries and Jock Sanders had 70 receiving yards. Bradley Starks was limited with an ankle injury, while Scooter Berry and J.T. Thomas sat out with injuries. Cornerback Brandon Hogan, who's had some issues this spring that have kept him off the practice field, started the game and had an interception.

"Defensively, we didn’t just play base," Stewart said. "We didn’t go out there and do a three-man front or a base four-man rush. We did a lot of stuff on both sides of the ball. That was good. I wanted to see our defense fly around, knock the ball and create some turnovers."

West Virginia drew 21,029 fans to the Friday night scrimmage, one of the largest spring game crowds in school history and most in the Big East this year.

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Old 05-05-2010, 06:37 AM   #16
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Spring Wrap Up

Spring answers

1. Experience matters: West Virginia returns 18 starters on offense and defense, most in the Big East, so even a few injuries and other issues that kept players out of practice this spring weren't a big deal. The coaching staff has the luxury of plugging in veterans at virtually every position, and when the first-stringers finally came together in the spring game, they looked very sharp. This is a team that should be ready to go from the opening gate.

2. White is all right: With projected starting quarterback Geno Smith limited throughout the spring by a foot injury, sophomore Coley White took the vast majority of the snaps. Though some had questioned whether he could play quarterback at this level, White showed great improvement throughout the spring and could easily lead the Mountaineers to victory if something goes wrong with Smith.

3. Backfield in motion: The Mountaineers should not have many problems running the ball this season. Devine returned and looks poised for a monster senior year. Shawne Alston also impressed at times, as well as fullback/tailback Ryan Clarke. West Virginia could also use Tavon Austin, Sanders and Daquan Hargrett as ball carriers.

Fall questions

1. Wideout depth: The defections of Deon Long and Logan Heastie before spring thinned the receiving corps. Sanders is a stud in the slot, but Starks needs to have a big year as one of the team's few deep threats. The pint-sized Austin has to show he can be effective outside of the slot, and Stedman Bailey must continue to make improvements. Incoming freshman Ivan McCartney could play an immediate role as well.

2. The offensive line: The Mountaineers return four starters who took virtually every snap last season. Still, coach Bill Stewart expressed concern about the right side of the line, including right tackle, where Selvish Capers must be replaced. There's a lot of experience up front, but this unit needs to gel this fall.

3. Improved leadership: Stewart called for more leadership from his team this spring, particularly among the underclassmen. The Mountaineers have solid senior leaders in guys like Devine, Sanders, Chris Neild and J.T. Thomas. But Stewart would like to see fewer young players running stadium stairs or riding exercise bikes during fall practice.

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Old 05-11-2010, 07:54 AM   #17
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Despite having more returning starters than any other Big East team and coming off a year in which they won nine games and finished second in the league, the West Virginia Mountaineers haven't gotten a lot of attention so far in the very early preseason polls.

But CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd today revealed his post-spring Top 25, and West Virginia checks in at No. 23. "Think Rich Rod could use Noel Devine at Michigan?" Dodd writes, cheekily.

The Mountaineers come in behind Pitt (No. 20) and Cincinnati (No. 22) in Dodd's Top 25.

Speaking of polls, Athlon Sports is continuing its daily Top 25 countdown. The latest team to appear is Pittsburgh, which Athlon ranks at No. 18. (UConn previously appeared at No. 20)

Says the site:

"The Panthers find themselves among the best of the best once again, underscoring the success of coach Dave Wannstedt’s rebuilding project. No longer is he simply hoping for success. Now, it’s a matter of how much. In 2009, Pitt was within a quarter of a BCS berth. Don’t be surprised if they get there this time."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
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Old 05-13-2010, 02:34 PM   #18
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Neild anchors D (BE Blog)

Chris Neild might be one of the most underappreciated players in the Big East. At least outside of Morgantown.

The West Virginia senior might have had only 35 tackles and no sacks last season, but numbers can't begin to define how valuable he is. Neild is the Big East's best nose tackle and a key to the Mountaineers' 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

Neild has to take on blockers in the middle in order for that scheme to work. And the 6-foot-2, 301-pounder does that to perfection.

"I've just got to do my job and do what I do to free up the linebackers," he said. "I've got to be at the right place at the right moment. That could be occupying two guys or even three guys."

Now entering his third year of starting, Neild understands that he's not going to get a lot of glory. Instead, he's going to do a lot of dirty work in the trenches.

"If teams want to focus on the running game, I know it's going to be a long day for me," he said. "But I've got the feeling down and know what I'm supposed to be doing."

If Neild is relatively unknown outside of West Virginia, he is cherished by his team. Head coach Bill Stewart praised Neild's leadership this spring and said he needed to find guys like Neild at other positions with his attitude and work ethic, like in the secondary.

Neild helped keep the defensive line strong last year despite injuries and other issues that forced Scooter Berry out and with young players like Julian Miller learning the ropes. This season, the Mountaineers are deep and experienced up front with all three starters back.

"What we have is potential," Neild said. "It means nothing until we put it out on the field. But when we get those numbers out there, I think we'll be a real force to be dealt with."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
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Old 05-17-2010, 10:42 AM   #19
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My last post was about how Noel Devine and Jock Sanders decided to return to school for their senior years at West Virginia (or as I like to call the story, a little ditty, about Jock and Noel).

Anyway, there's always more you can put into a story like that, and here are a few other tidbits I found interesting:


Both players and Bill Stewart talked about how they had matured from their early days. It was obvious in just chatting with Devine this spring. He's always been a pretty quiet guy with the media, but in our conversation he was much more talkative and self-assured than I had found him in previous interviews. "A lot of people have told me this spring that I've grown up a lot," he said.
This is what Devine had to say about being an example for kids who had it tough growing up like he did: "I want to help other people who are similar to me believe they can do the same things as me," he said. "If they know about my story and my lifestyle, they can relate and that can motivate them so that they can do the same things that I do."
I asked Devine how he wanted to go out in his senior year, whether he had any personal goals like 2,000 yards or anything like that."I just want to go out with a big bang," he said. "Better than Steve [Slaton] and Pat [White] did. Just enjoy it, and make history at the same time."
Sanders had those 72 catches last year, but his numbers tailed off toward the end of the season. He feels like there's a lot of things he can do better."I had some weak points in my game," Sanders said. "I wasn't finishing routes when I knew I wasn't getting the ball. I want to get things straight before I try to make the next level."
Losing in the Gator Bowl to Florida State, he said, was a factor in both his and Devine's decision to return. They're not happy with nine-win seasons.
Interestingly enough, when I talked to Stewart this spring, he called Sanders "the best football player on this team." That's because Sanders is not only a big-time slot receiver, but he can slide over to tailback and is an electric special teams player. "I think he said that because I'm so versatile," Sanders said. "That's key for me, being so small. I try to learn every position on the field."
And how would Sanders like to go out?"I want us to go 7-0 in the Big East and win the league without any ties," he said. "We're going to try to win every game and get back to a BCS game or win a BCS championship if possible."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
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Old 07-06-2010, 10:12 AM   #20
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'10 FL ATH Spencer Boyd (07/15/09)

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DB who enrolled early at ND this year, got homesick for his gf. He is apparently transferring to WV.
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