February 3 Notebook
February 03, 2007 05:58 PM | General
February 3, 2007
 |
||
| Rich Rodriguez |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Football signing day is just a few days away and of course we will be providing Coach Rich Rodriguez’s press conference announcing the newest class of signees on MSNsportsNET.com early Wednesday evening.
Speaking of signing day, I dug up some old ratings that a good many of you refer to as the gospel in your emails to us. Specifically, I looked up the ratings of Steve Slaton and Patrick White – two pretty fair college football players.
One scouting service gave Slaton three stars (out of five) and listed him as the 27th-best player in Pennsylvania. White also got three stars and was the 55th-rated athlete in the country.
Fullback Owen Schmitt was off the charts – literally; he wasn’t even rated.
Either West Virginia coaches walk on water or some of those bird dogs were chasing the wrong squirrels.
Whether it’s hot shots Jupiter Pluvius and Sidd Finch, or Tommy the Dinging-it-Out guy, I’m going to trust Coach Rod’s judgment on our recruits rather than the mailman-turned talent scout and the rest of the so-called experts out there.
(Don’t waste your time looking up Jupiter Pluvius and Sidd Finch – they’re fictional)
Briefly:
Someone else can find out whether or not one of WVU’s recruits was named Mr. Bee Potato Chip player week.
 |
||
| John Beilein |
“I think the schedule has been very fortuitous for us thus far,” he said earlier this week. “We’ve played so many home (games) and the league started with five at home and three away and we won all five and we lost all three. We sort of broke that (at Rutgers).
“If you look at our upcoming schedule, of the remaining games we have three Top 10 teams if you count Pitt twice and an outstanding Georgetown team. Where we really are will surface at the end but we’re going to keep on playing each game and see what we can do.”
One aspect of his team’s play that Beilein admits has been most pleasing is the unity they have displayed.
“They’re just great kids,” he said. “I’ve sensed in the last two weeks, and winning helps, that they generally like each other both on and off the court and play that way on the court.”
 |
||
| Chuck Howley |
He was recently listed as the sixth-best Super Bowl linebacker by CNNSI.com and USA Today had him as a reserve on its all-time Super Bowl team.
Howley is still up for the Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration but his candidacy has now been relegated to the seniors committee, which nominates only two players per year for induction. Last year, Howley’s Dallas teammate Rayfield Wright made it in that way.
One Hall of Fame selector I emailed last week wasn’t too encouraging about Howley's chances of getting in any time soon.
“I believe Chuck Howley is Hall of Fame worthy,” he replied. “I have been an advocate on the seniors committee. But the Cowboys have had two senior candidates in the last three years. It may be eight-to-10 years before we see another one from Dallas.”
Howley was voted to six pro bowls from 1965-71 and the late Tom Landry once rated him among the best linebackers he’d ever seen.
That’s good enough for me.
 |
||
| Nick Noble |
This is the first Olympic camp of the year and the U-23 age group will represent the U.S. in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Noble was also recently selected in the first round of the MLS supplemental draft by Chicago.
 |
||
| Tyrone Sally |
Those are weekend home football dates for next fall.
I sure didn’t and I bet those who know a lot more about basketball than I do didn’t expect this either. In fact, I know so because I read their predictions just like you did – one preseason magazine had West Virginia dead last in the league and not making the Big East tournament.
Now I realize there is still some games left in the regular season, but some of these other teams West Virginia is ahead of in the standings are going to have to get really hot for the Mountaineers to finish 16th.
 |
||
| Justin Jenkins |
Outfielders Justin Jenkins and Adam White were named to the preseason all-Big East team.
I know it’s 4-below outside right now, but West Virginia’s season-opener against Cleveland State is just 14 days away in Winston-Salem on Saturday, Feb. 16.
Hopefully veteran WVU equipment manager Bubba Schmidt will have long underwear packed in their Nike bags when the Mountaineers take off for North Carolina.
Congratulations to the Camerons!
The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of West Virginia University or the Mountaineer Sports Network.
