West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen frequently refers to off or open weeks as “bye weeks” because there is still plenty of work being done.
Holgorsen mentioned earlier this week that prep work for next Saturday’s border clash with Maryland began on Monday.
“We all know how important the Maryland game is,” he said. “Every game is important and we know this one is pretty important. Going on my fifth year, I have been fortunate enough to go against them; I know what this game means to our team, our school and our fan base and it’s the same for them.”
The Terps fell 48-27 to Bowling Green last weekend and play USF at noon on Saturday in College Park. It’s three weeks into the young season and Maryland coach Randy Edsall has already made a change at quarterback, demoting starter Perry Hills to third team in favor of backup Caleb Rowe.
And Oklahoma State transfer Daxx Garman, a familiar name to Mountaineer fans, is now Rowe’s backup. Rowe attempted three passes in last year’s 40-37 loss to West Virginia, completing two of them for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Holgorsen said this weekend will be devoted to recruiting, but you can bet many of the assistant coaches will be near a TV on Saturday to keep a close eye on how Rowe and the Terrapins perform against USF.
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It is still difficult to get a handle on Maryland being a member of the Big Ten Conference. It seems like every time I go to ESPN.com to do a little research on the Terps I always click the ACC tab first before realizing that Maryland is no longer a member of that conference.
I did the same thing last spring when West Virginia played Maryland in the NCAA tournament over in Columbus, Ohio.
I suppose people do the same with West Virginia and the Big 12 when they are researching Mountaineer scores as well.
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Slaton
The West Virginia-Maryland series has usually been interesting and competitive with many memorable games, but there have also been plenty of blowouts, too.
Two years ago in the rain in Baltimore, West Virginia took one on the chin, 37-0, with freshman quarterback Ford Childress under center. Back in 2003, the Mountaineers lost 34-7 in College Park and to prove that wasn’t a fluke, got whacked 41-7 by the Terps in the Gator Bowl later that season.
West Virginia absorbed a 48-17 beating in Morgantown in 2002 and put up little resistance in College Park in 1999 when the Terps manhandled the Mountaineers 33-0.
On the flip side, West Virginia routed Maryland 45-24 in Morgantown in 2006 (with Steve Slaton running wild that night), blasted the Terps 42-20 in 1998, and ran all over them in a 37-7 victory in 1991, which likely means next Saturday’s clash will probably go right down to the wire based on my handle of things.
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I don’t follow recruiting that closely, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Mountaineers bag a few verbal commitments this weekend when the coaches are out on the road recruiting.
“We will send coaches all over the country,” Holgorsen said earlier this week. “There’s 10 of us going out, myself and the nine other coaches will be out and about and we will see as many games as we possibly can, and talk to as many coaches as we can.”
Holgorsen said the staff will be back in town by Sunday to begin a normal prep week for the Terps.
Speaking of recruiting, I’m hearing Bob Huggins is shopping for bigs this fall. West Virginia currently has two scholarships to offer for the November signing period.
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West Virginia’s defense began the season with six straight scoreless quarters - the first time that has happened since 1977 when the Mountaineers blanked Richmond in the opener and jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead against Maryland - and we saw the ability to generate some turnovers against Georgia Southern in the opener.
What we are still waiting to see is if the Mountaineers can generate more of a pass rush in the 3-3 stack scheme.
West Virginia has just one sack in eight quarters of play so far.
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It’s been a rough week in the Casteel household. Former West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel’s Arizona Wildcats are facing Northern Arizona this Saturday, and playing backup linebacker for NAU is none other than Casteel’s son, Jake.
The younger Casteel grew up around Mountaineer football before transferring to Salpointe Catholic in Tucson when his dad reunited with Rich Rodriguez in 2013.
Casteel’s wife Rosie is a year-round Arizona Wildcats fan except for this Saturday when she will be rooting for her son.
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West
Freshman Esa Ahmad is probably the one newcomer most likely to help the Mountaineers this season, but Lamont West is a player worth keeping an eye on down the road.
West is listed at 6-8 on this year’s roster but he’s still growing and could reach 6-10 by the time his Mountaineer career is finished. He readily admitted earlier this summer that he “sucked” as a player before getting serious about his basketball career after transferring to Miller Grove High in Lithonia, Georgia.
West averaged nearly 18 points per game during his senior season and drew late interest from several schools before signing with West Virginia.
There is still a lot of work to be done, but the Lamont West-Bob Huggins pairing could be a match made in basketball heaven if West puts in the time and continues to develop.
By the way, West’s mother, Tonya Kirk, was a standout player at Purdue who played on the Boilermakers’ Final Four team in 1994.
I am also hearing women’s coach Mike Carey has been pretty pleased with his team’s outside shooting during offseason workouts.
Zone defenses have been West Virginia’s kryptonite the last few years and Carey has worked hard trying to locate shooters to rectify that.
The key will be if those new shooters can play defense the way Carey likes to play it.
Stay tuned.
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Bowden
I am told several key players on Bobby Bowden’s 1975 Peach Bowl team will be back in town next Saturday to help celebrate Bowden’s induction into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame, including quarterback Dan Kendra and running back Artie Owens.
Bowden, who will turn 86 this November, got his Division I coaching start at West Virginia in 1970 and spent six seasons in Morgantown before moving on to Florida State in 1976.
Bowden is one of six going into this year’s WVU Sports Hall of Fame. The other five:
Jerome Anderson, men’s basketball
Dr. Kevin Gilson, swimming and diving
Ken Herock, football
Megan (Metcalfe) Wright, women’s track and cross country
Amos Zereoue football
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You can file this one under the strange category:
As soon as I heard EA Sports was planning to include players with NCAA eligibility in its FIFA 16 game I knew it was only a matter of time before the NCAA would get involved. Two of the 13 college players affected are West Virginia’s Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence and all 13 have since been removed from the game.
You could see that one coming from a mile away.
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Construction work continues on the east side of Milan Puskar Stadium. When fans return to Morgantown for next Saturday’s Maryland game they should see significant progress because there has been two full weeks of uninterrupted work on that side of the stadium.
Construction crews have had to “button up” the east side on Thursdays to get the stadium prepared for game day.
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There may a shaft of light in Chuck Howley’s quest for becoming a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, according to NFL media analyst Elliot Harrison:
Howley is long overdue for Canton and boasts stronger credentials than many players already in. Hopefully this gets rectified soon.
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Gibson
And finally, our Lacey Gibson was inducted into the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame last Saturday prior to the Crimson Hawks’ game against Kutztown.
Gibson was a standout volleyball player at IUP who still owns a number of school records there, including career assists with 6,473. She was named Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2001 and was a two-time all-conference choice while helping the Crimson Hawks to more than 100 victories during her collegiate career.
Gibson graduated from IUP in 2005 and a master’s degree from Slippery Rock in 2006. Her post-athletic career includes stops at Coastal Carolina, South Carolina and St. Francis, Pa., before arriving at WVU in 2010 to work in the compliance department.
Gibson was promoted to assistant athletic director for compliance in November, 2013, working closely with Keli Cunningham, executive senior associate athletic director.
Congratulations, Lacey!
Enjoy your weekend!
