SB Nation - Kyle Rose

2012 WVU Football Unit Previews: Defensive Line

WVUIE97 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:22:28 -0000

Switching from the 3-3-5 to a 3-4 defense doesn't mean much of a difference for the defensive linemen on the field most of the time. Yes, some of the responsibilities may have changed a bit, but not noticeably. Stuffing the run and generating a pass rush are still the key tenets of the defensive line.

With the losses of Bruce Irvin and Julian Miller, almost half of it's sack producers from last season are gone. Generating a pass rush in the Big 12 could be paramount this season for this relatively young defense. After all, a decent pass rush can do wonders for an inexperienced defensive backfield. The Mountaineer defensive front isn't very experienced either. According to stats compiled by the Daily Mail, among the personnel listed on the initial depth chart, there are only "24 career starts and 76 career games among nine players. Seven have never started a game, three have never played a game, one has played only a handful of snaps in four games and two were true freshmen listed as backups."

Charged with clogging up the middle and generating that pass rush will be starting front three: Will Clarke at tackle, Shaq Rowell at nose and Jorge Wright at end. A couple of true freshmen have cracked the initial two-deep in Christian Brown and Korey Harris and both are expected to contribute right away. Also expected to see playing time in the rotation are veterans Kyle Rose and J.B. Lageman.

Here's coach Holgorsen's take:

"Too many young guys," Holgorsen said. "You're talking about a few new freshmen, and we didn't have a whole lot of depth at that position anyway. We've got a whole lot of guys and not a lot of experience." - Charleston Daily Mail

Yes, this defense has a lot more question marks than answers, at least to begin the season. That's not to say it won't be successful. But in what many consider to be the best offensive league in the country, the young guys will have to play well beyond their years. Otherwise, WVU could be involved in quite a few shootouts in 2012

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday The 13th (7/13/12) Edition

WVUIE97 — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:14:06 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's nationally recognized best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you by Rugen Brau until I can come up with a permanent image for this space.

May I first draw your attention to the main page, right side-bar, just below the fanposts, where the football schedule is finally up to date (and what a glorious schedule it is). We've got news and notes from both the football and basketball teams, including another transfer from Coach Huggins' program. Another Mountaineer has his name added to a pre-season watch list and we have several updates from WVUPros as well. All of this, a Big 12 roundup and more...

Programming Note: No regular Shotgun/Throwdowns next week as I'm getting my batteries recharged in time for the football season rush. The other guys will do their best to keep you occupied though.

What You May Have Missed:

WVU's Luck on lessons learned, Holgorsen contract, etc. - Charleston Gazette
Quasi-notebook, includes this tidbit: "What we'd like to do is honor some of our ex-players and coaches in the East and West concourses." Luck acknowledged his vision is for a Ring of Honor.

Pastilong proud of his time at WVU - Martinsburg Journal
He noted that during the 37-year stretch he worked for and also with not only outstanding staffs, but many highly regarded people.

Men's Basketball: Forsythe to Transfer - WVUsports.com
More on this from Country Roads later today

99 College Hoops Thoughts, Facts And Predictions For The 2012-13 Season - SBNation.com
WVU has a couple of mentions, but #84 is the prize

Miles Building Toward Second Season with Mountaineers - Wvillustrated
As a freshman, Miles started in 30 of the team's 33 games, but averaged fewer minutes than six of his teammates and finished with just 1.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.

Keaton Miles Greentree Highlights (Video) - WVillustrated
Mountaineer forward nears a double-double in overtime win at Pittsburgh Pro Am Summer League.

Bruce Irvin "Opening Plenty of Eyes" in Seattle - WVU Pros
His speed and work ethic has shown through during mini-camps and OTA’s in starter Chris Clemons’ absence.

Kevin Jones Will Not Play In the NBA Summer League - WVU Pros
Kevin Jones will sit out this summer's Summer League in Las Vegas. We tell you why.

Jones hopes to make Cleveland Cavaliers' roster - Charleston Daily Mail
Yet later this month he'll be playing host to a three-day event at George Washington High School.

Devin Ebanks To Re-Sign With L.A. For One-Year - WVU Pros
The team recently offered him a one-year, $1 million tender causing him to be a restricted free-agent.

The Syracuse - West Virginia Rivalry Is Over But Not Forgotten - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Strip away the fact that they're the West Virginia Mountaineers and we're the Syracuse Orange and we don't like each other very much, the last decade or so of West Virginia football has been a pretty interesting saga.

News of Note:

After a big win, West Virginia takes its game to the bigger stage of the Big 12 - Oklahoman
One of the monumental victories in school history converges with elevation to a high-profile conference. It’s a perfect storm for coach Dana Holgorsen and the Mountaineers.

The Big 12's next great coaches - Big 12 Blog - ESPN
That earned Dana Holgorsen a heck of a first job -- West Virginia -- and earns him my pick as the Big 12's biggest rising star in the coaching profession.

HERTZEL COLUMN: WVU football: Contention for national title? - Times West Virginian
It seems that the awesome nature of the Orange Bowl left everyone remembering only the perfection of the final moments of the season and not the flaws that should present at least a dusting of doubt over the coming season, magnified by the move into the unknown of the Big 12.

Bailey Still has Something to Prove - WVillustrated
Despite his breakout season last year, Stedman Bailey still feels as though he has something to prove

Eger Wants 'Nasty' O-line - WVUsports.com
Bedenbaugh wants his players to be technicians for sure, but he never wants his guys’ brains to tie up their feet. Eger explains.

Looking For A Rose On The Line - WVMETRONEWS.COM
One of the guys hoping to work himself into the mix along the line is redshirt-freshman Kyle Rose.

’Eers’ Level expects more passing in Big 12 this year - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
WVU defensive back battles for starting role

Best College Football Nicknames ft. "Honey Badger" - Lost Letterman
Geno is on here

Football: Bitancurt Named to Groza Watch List - WVUsports.com
Add his name to the growing list of Mountaineers being "watched"

Around the League (and Beyond):

Road trip planning time is here - Bring On The Cats

Breaking News: TIF Board Approves Money for New Stadium - Our Daily Bears

K-State uses transparency to rebuild trust and get its financial house in order - Kansas City Star

Paul Rhoads' Rejected ESPY Speech - Wide Right & Natty Lite

Kansas Football 2012: What Are You Expecting from Dayne Crist? - Rock Chalk Talk

Oklahoma Football: 5 Key Players For Success In 2012 - Crimson And Cream Machine

UT's Kicking Game, and A Possible 2014 Target - Burnt Orange Nation

TCU Linebacker Group Takes Another Hit - Frogs O' War

Where to Rank Texas Tech? College Football's Biggest Question Mark - Double-T Nation

College Football Mailbag - Stewart Mandel - SI.com
Mandel lists his "Pecking Order" and WVU has moved up to the land of "Barons"

Northwestern Hates Fun, Purdue Fun Doesn't Exist - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
B1G school mascots doing "Call Me Maybe"...when will these people learn?

How much money does FSU need to support an elite football program? - Tomahawk Nation
Future Big 12 brethren?

Orange Bowl loss still haunts Clemson Tigers - Yardbarker
Hehehehe

Video of Interest:

For the third consecutive year, the Big 12 conducted its annual leadership summit. 40 student-athletes representing various sports from all member schools gathered in Lubbock for activities, discussions and speakers. The goal was to improve their leadership skills for not only their time on campus but for the rest of their lives.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Now we know how many rubber bands it takes to destroy a watermelon (and knowing is half the battle):

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is a Canadian model who's done work for SI, among others. HERE'S today's gallery of the exquisite Kim Cloutier.

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Pre-Holiday (7/3/12) Edition

WVUIE97 — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:37:33 -0000

We have lots of coverage of the Big 12 celebration, including interviews with Commissioner Bowlsby, Oliver Luck and President Clements. There's also football features, summer hoops league updates, KJ signed with Cleveland, more from WVUPros and news from around the Big 12.

What You May Have Missed:

G&BN: Jones With An NBA Future - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Kevin Jones talks about how he came to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

WVU, Big 12, academics and new tasks - Charleston Gazette
"Research partnerships," he said. "Energy conferences. There are some great universities in this league. We're in good company."

WVU to be thorough in its search to land media rights partner - Charleston Daily Mail
WVU will spend the next two weeks assessing the statements and must respond to the submissions by July 17.

Greentree Recap 7/2 - BGN
Of the six West Virginia players who participated in Monday's games in the Pittsburgh Pro Am League at Greentree, five were involved in the night's final contest.

Matt Humphrey fitting in at West Virginia after transferring from Boston College - Daily Athenaeum
Senior guard Matt Humphrey decided to come to West Virginia after finishing second in scoring at Boston College last season.

Noel Devine Starts For the Alouettes In CFL Opener - WVU Pros
We tell you how Devine performed in his first regular season game for the Montreal Alouettes.

Will Devin Ebanks Remain With the Lakers? - WVU Pros
The free-agent former Mountaineer has multiple teams interested in his services. Will he remain with the team who drafted him?

Big 12 Celebration:

Insights and Introspections - BGN
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby spoke about his league’s footprint, its television grant-of-rights and expansion issues in a media meet-and-greet Sunday.

Big 12 Bash - BGN
Bob Bowlsby recognizes a party when he sees one. And this was as big a celebration as West Virginia University has had in years.

Bowlsby: Big East Instability Big 12's Gain - WVMETRONEWS.COM
"But I’m so comfortable that we got this right as a conference and West Virginia got it right as an institution,"

WVU ushered into new conference - Times West Virginian
"My only goal was to make sure we maintained our position in the big leagues," Luck admitted.

HERTZEL COLUMN: A brave, new world for WVU - Times West Virginian
"Hard work pays off," former quarterback Patrick White said the other day.

WVU Celebrates Its First Day In The Big 12 - WVillustrated
West Virginia University celebrated its first day in the Big 12 with a cookout for its student-athletes, coaches and support staff.

Big 12 Celebration Interviews - WVillustrated
Interviews with WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and President Clements

PHOTOS from WVU's "Welcome to the Big 12" Reception - WVillustrated

News of Note:

Blue Ribbon Tabs WVU No. 11 Preseason - WVMETRONEWS.COM
#11 overall, #2 Big 12

Commentary-2012 Not Only Measuring Stick for WVU Football - WVMETRONEWS.COM
The key is not just this season. The key will be what will continue to happen after this year.

Video: Big 12 Impact Player - Big 12 Blog - ESPN
Any guesses?

WVU backup QB ready for call - Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"Geno’s going to gone after this year," he said. "It’s going to be a quarterback battle next spring. The quarterback’s got to be the leader on the team, and I’m looking to step into that role.

OSU football: Former Cowboy Andrew McGee has found his calling - Oklahoman
McGee was wondering what was next in his life, when Joe DeForest called with an opportunity at West Virginia.

Rose may be thorn in side of WVU foes - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Freshman DE seeks time in Mountaineers’ 3-4 scheme

Big 12 football: OU-West Virginia takes over as conference's marquee game - Oklahoman
Oklahoma-Texas long has been the Big 12's marquee football game. It's an institution unto itself.

Texas Writer Exchanges Q&A With WVi - WVillustrated
Carter Strickland of Hornsnation, part of espn.com, exhanged a Q&A with WVi's Scott Grayson

Recruiting:

WVU Football Adds July Enrollees - WVMETRONEWS.COM
West Virginia on Monday officially welcomed four more scholarship players into Morgantown as summer school classes are ongoing at WVU.

Around the League (and Beyond):

New Big 12 will be much, much tougher - Big 12 Blog - ESPN
West Virginia in the Big 12? As in the campus that's 500 miles closer (371 miles) to the Atlantic Ocean than another Big 12 campus? (Iowa State, 871 miles).

The Last Chance for Troubled Transfer DE Shawn Oakman - Our Daily Bears

Stormin' Around the Big XII: Welcoming Our New Overlords Edition - Wide Right & Natty Lite

Our New Natural Rivals. - Bring On The Cats
We're in demand

Kansas Football: Two Different Viewpoints On Next Season - Rock Chalk Talk

TCU Big 12 Party Video - Frogs O' War

Are you ready for Texas Tech Football? - Double-T Nation

OSU football: Cowboys get transfer kicker Kip Smith from UCLA - Oklahoman

What's On Tap:

The USA's Birthday...be safe!!

Video of Interest:

Oh, Aggies...

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is the new "it" girl, the intoxicating Kate Upton. HERE's a wonderful gallery of gifs and be sure you watch the video below before it gets pulled again (slightly NSFW at the end, which you may be able to see already in the still shot). HERE'S a bonus gallery (because I care).

WVU Football Recruiting Update: Post Spring Edition

Country Roads — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:00:18 -0000

Now that the Gold-Blue spring game is in the books and things around the WVU sports world are starting to slow down a little, it's probably a good time to look ahead to the Mountaineers' 2013 football recruiting class. While Dana Holgorsen's first full recruiting class as head coach was solid across the board, 2013 is where the team should really start to reap the benefits of the 70-33 Orange Bowl victory over Clemson and, possibly to a greater extent, the move to the Big XII. The class got off to a pretty solid start over the weekend, with the verbals of Bloomfield, NJ, offensive lineman Marcell Lazard and Hermitage, PA, running back Deshawn Coleman. Both are excellent early pickups, with Lazard (6'5, 280) choosing West Virginia over offers from Florida, Ohio State, and Miami FL, among others, and Coleman (5'11, 170) spurning offers from Penn State and Purdue. Coleman could be an excellent sleeper pick after exploding onto the scene last year. Although those are the Mountaineers' first verbals of the class of 2013 (okay, unless you count Ohio safety Jayme Thompson, who already decommitted to join Urban Meyer's minor league franchise in Columbus), the future remains bright inside the Puskar Center.

What I hope to do here is break down who WVU will be losing, the areas of biggest need, and the most likely targets to fill those areas. That last part might be a little difficult this early in the game, as a large part of recruiting is done over the summer when coaches aren't busy with current players and recruits have time away from school and football to take visits and think about their future. Keep in mind, WVU should be able to take the full 25 players in this class and will have the luxury of counting a couple early enrollees back toward the 2012 class, which should provide flexibility to take a few projects. I see this class as pivotal in WVU's ability to succeed in the Big XII due to the number of impact players WVU will be losing and the need for new players to step in immediately and help us win.

QB - Orange Bowl MVP Geno Smith will graduate in 2012, hopefully after breaking all kinds of ridiculous passing records. His backups, sophomore Paul Millard and freshman Ford Childress, both look poised to pick up where Smith will leave off. True, Smith was the more decorated recruit, but I don't think there is much to worry about here. Yet I still think we take at least one, if not two, scholarship quarterbacks in this class to provide much-needed depth.

RB - Shawne Alston, Ryan Clarke, and newly converted LB Donovan Miles will all be departing. Sophomores Dustin Garrison and Andrew Buie will return along with freshmen Torry Clayton and Roshard Burney. The Mounties clearly need more depth here, and it would be great to find a stud back who can take over the bulk of the carries and rush for over 1,000 yards. What's more interesting, at least to me, will be whether Holgorsen elects to offer scholarships to blocking backs for his diamond formations, or whether that formation developed out of necessity based on the personnel on hand. I'm guessing it's the latter, and we see 1-2 running backs in this class.

WR - Tavon Austin, JD Woods and Ryan Nehlen are seniors. I wouldn't die from shock if Stedman Bailey elected to turn pro. That leaves a freaking YOUNG receiving corps. Luckily, though, the group appears to be talented. We'll see how RS freshmen KJ Myers and Dante Campbell and transfer Terrence Gourdine develop and whether junior Ivan McCartney can stay healthy. Jordan Thompson looks great, and the incoming class has some potential impact players in Travares Copeland and Deontay McManus, among others. Still, we will need depth and impact players, so I'd expect 3-4 receivers in this class. And yeah, I'd expect them to be really freaking good.

OL - Jeff Braun, Joe Madsen and Josh Jenkins, and backup John Bassler will be gone, leaving new starters throughout the interior line (good grief are we going to be young on offense next year! losing 8 starters? are you kidding?!?). Another area where depth isn't as good as we'd like (although last year's class was good), I'd expect to see 3-4 linemen in this group.

DL - Key players Will Clarke and JB Lageman will graduate, leaving Shaq Rowell, Imarjaye Albury, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Rose and Tyler Demko to man the line. If right now you're thinking we really need to start recruiting well along the defensive line, you'd be right. Defensive line is probably the hardest position to come in and play as a true freshman, so unless we want to start getting dominated by Big XII offenses, it would behoove us to develop quality depth along the line. I'm hoping to see at least 3 quality defensive linemen in this class.

LB - Other than JUCO transfer Josh Francis (who seems poised to shine this year in the new 3-4 scheme) and Terence Garvin, the entire linebacking corps returns, and they look to be talented. Jared Barber, Jewone Snow, Doug Rigg, Troy Gloster, Wes Tonkery, Taige Redman, Shaq Petteway, and Isaiah Bruce (who led the spring game with 8 tackles) will all return with a ton of experience. I still think we take a few backers to provide depth for the future, but linebacker is probably our deepest position going forward.

DB - Starting corner Pat Miller departs, and backup safety Matt Moro will be gone. Starting safeties Darwin Cook and Travis Bell return, bolstered by young corners Avery Williams and Terrell Chestnut and freshman safety Karl Joseph. I like the experience here, but this year will be a crucial one to build depth at both corner and safety, as those players will have to step in and play the following year. I expect at least 2 corners and 2 safeties.

Oh, and we lose specialists Corey Smith and Tyler Bitancurt, although scholarship kicker Josh Lambert will probably be a redshirt freshman in 2013. So make what you will of that.

As for potential targets, things are obviously pretty nebulous at this point. There are offers out, but everything is in flux. Given how huge a task this could potentially be, let's pick a prospect from each group above and see where we stand.

QB - Connor Mitch (Raleigh, NC) - Offers from Alabama, LSU and North Carolina. 6'3, 210 lbs. Led his team to a 10-3 record with more than 3,300 passing yards and 35 TD.

RB - Lorenzo Woodley (Miami, FL) - Offers from Florida State, Tennessee and Rutgers. Split time with two other division 1 recruits at running back, yet averaged 9.5 YPC with 8 TD. Uh, not bad.

WR - Zach Bradshaw (Damascus, MD) - Offers from Georgia Tech, Michigan, and South Carolina. Good size at 6'3, 205 lbs. Tons of room to develop.

OL - Ethan Pocic (Lemont, IL) - Offers from everyone. No, really. I think the Cleveland Browns offered him a scholarship. At 6'6, 280 lbs with room to grow, he's just the type of offensive tackle Bill Bedenbaugh is looking for to groom into a road grading fortress.

DL - DeMarcus Walker (Jacksonville, FL) - Offers from Alabama, Florida and Southern Cal. First team all-state as a junior. 6'4, 265 lbs and athletic. Would be a coup if he ended up in Morgantown.

LB - Yannick Ngakoue (Washington, DC) - Offers from Auburn, Florida State and Vanderbilt. 6'2, 225 lbs and savvy at middle linebacker, could contribute immediately.

DB - Kirk Garner (Olney, MD) - Offers from Nebraska, Penn State, UVA. 5'11, 180 lbs and quick. Plays on an excellent Our Lady Good Counsel team with plenty of experience winning big. Would provide excellent depth.

We will do our best to keep you updated on new commits and new prospects, as well as other developments, throughout the summer. If anyone has information about potential recruits, please share it in the comments. This is a collaborative effort, here, and any additional tips are greatly appreciated.