Campus Connection: Summer WVU Sports Notes
July 13, 2018 08:00 AM | Football, Blog
The Big 12 announced its all-preseason football team on Wednesday and there were really no surprises as far as West Virginia was concerned.
Heading into the season, quarterback Will Grier is clearly the conference's marquee offensive player - as Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield was last year - and David Sills V is the nation's top returning touchdown catcher from 2017, so those two were obvious choices.
Left tackle Yodny Cajuste has drawn rave reviews for his athleticism and abilities protecting Grier's blindside so his pick was not surprising, nor was outside linebacker David Long Jr., whose 18-tackle, seven-TFL performance last year against Oklahoma State goes down as one of the great individual defensive efforts in school history.
The four this year are the most ever for West Virginia on the preseason team, besting the three (Josh Lambert, Nick Kwiatkoski and Karl Joseph) who made it in 2015, and Grier's pick as the preseason offensive player of the year matches Geno Smith's selection in 2012.
Strong cases could also be made for senior wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr., whose 97 catches and 1,096 yards ranks among the top returning wide receivers in the conference, and senior safety Dravon Askew-Henry, whose 39-game totals include 160 tackles, four interceptions and 4 ½ tackles for losses.
Both should be contenders for postseason awards, as should emerging sophomore free safety Kenny Robinson, who displayed an uncanny knack for making big plays as a true freshman last season.
Offensive linemen Josh Sills and Colton McKivitz, wide receivers Marcus Simms and T.J. Simmons, and blossoming nose Darius Stills are others who could contend for postseason recognition if the Mountaineers perform well this year.
I can see TCU defensive lineman Ben Banogu as the league's top defensive player, and the Horned Frogs' KaVontae Turpin is easily the league's biggest game changer in terms of special teams. He is also a player who could challenge Grier, among others, for offensive player of the year honors if TCU has a big season.
I guess really the only surprising aspects of this year's preseason All-Big 12 team come on the defensive side with the absence of any Oklahoma players on it and three Texas Tech players making the squad.
According to ESPN's Jake Trotter, it's the first time since 1999 that Oklahoma has failed to have at least one defensive player make the Big 12's preseason team, while the Red Raiders, once the butt of jokes for their inability to stop anybody, displayed dramatic improvement in 2017 with David Gibbs running the defense.
It's the first time Texas Tech has had a defensive player on the preseason All-Big 12 team since defensive lineman Pete Robertson was picked in 2015.
Incidentally, just 13 WVU players have been selected to the All-Big 12 preseason football teams since the Mountaineers joined the conference in 2012, with Joseph being the only repeat choice in 2014-15.
More summer sports notes …
* Yesterday, the Big 12 announced its preseason media poll and West Virginia finished second to Oklahoma, as it also once did in 2012. Back in 2012, the Sooners held up their end of the deal, tying Kansas State for first overall with an 8-1 Big 12 record while West Virginia finished in a four-way tie with Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU for fifth with a 4-5 mark.
A lot of comparisons have been made this summer between this year's team and that 2012 squad (strong offense and questionable defense), so it will be interesting to see how things play out.
The guess here is that Tony Gibson's defense will fare far better in 2018 than the one West Virginia put on the field in 2012 did.
* Former WVU All-America guard Jevon Carter recently wrapped up NBA Summer League Tournament play in Sacramento by averaging six points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games for the Memphis Grizzlies.
He averaged 21 minutes per game for Memphis, which won one game and lost two.
Yesterday, he scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out eight assists in the Grizzlies' opening game of the Utah Tournament against Oklahoma City. They play again on Saturday.
Also, former Mountaineer standout forward Devin Williams appeared in four games for the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento where he averaged five points and 3.8 rebounds. The Kings were 1-3 in summer league play there.
Once summer play is finished, next up for Carter and the Grizzlies is preseason training camp leading into their first preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, Oct. 4, at Wells Fargo Center.
* ESPN.com college basketball writer Jeff Borzello recently examined this year's recruiting needs for each top-25 team in 2018. Regarding 13th-ranked West Virginia this is what Borzello wrote, "Bob Huggins is in solid shape. Of course, if there's attrition or some newcomers don't fit Press Virginia well, he could need reinforcements."
* Moving along, here are a couple of summer sports lists …
CBSSports.com crunched the numbers to come up with its yearly "Best in College Sports Award" based on a formula that emphasizes sports with more broad fan bases and media interest.
So, generally speaking it's a perception deal as much as it is reality, but as we know these days perception is sometimes more important than reality.
At any rate, this year West Virginia tied Virginia Tech for 23rdwith 308.5 overall points, which ranked fourth among Big 12 teams.
Oklahoma was fourth, Oklahoma State 17thand Texas was 22nd.
By the way, local rival Pitt finished 95thwith 96.5 points, one point below Toledo and four points above the Air Force Academy. Only Georgia Tech, also of the ACC, finished lower than the Panthers among Power 5 programs in CBS' yearly athletic department perception poll.
Interesting.
Meanwhile, college football expert Bruce Feldman recently came up with his list of the top 50 "college football freaks," based on his conversations with coaches, players and sports information directors.
West Virginia's Yodny Cajuste was 13thon Feldman's list, who wrote in The Athletic, "The Mountaineers' offense is loaded this year and Cajuste isn't the only freak of the group.
"Wide receiver Gary Jennings almost made our list thanks to his 38-inch vertical, 4.05 pro shuttle time and 400-pound bench, but the 6-5, 320-pound Cajuste was our clear choice. The former high school basketball player from South Florida bench pressed 495 and dead lifts 735. Cajuste's 1.65 10-yard split would have best Kolton Miller's 1.67 that was the top time by any offensive lineman at the NFL Scouting Combine this year and would have beaten any time in the previous three years in Indy. Cajuste also broad jumps 9-2."
Feldman's top college football freak last year was Penn State's Saquon Barkley, taken second overall in last spring's NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
Feldman has yet to unveil his top 10 college football freaks for 2018. I wonder who he will pick as No. 1 this year?
And, could David Sills V be in his top 10?
* Do you remember Joe Sykes? He played defensive end briefly for Rich Rodriguez in the early 2000s before finishing his college career at Southern University. Well, at 35 he is still playing football in the Arena League and earlier this spring he set the Arena League record for career sacks as a member of the Albany Empire.
Speaking of former players, I believe I saw somewhere that Angel Estrada is still playing as well. It was Estrada's playmaking skills as a hybrid linebacker/safety that provided the extra push for the Mountaineers to switch to the 3-3 stack defense where he became a spur safety. Of course, a version of this defense is still being used today by current defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.
* While taking a late-morning break to get in some of my 10,000 daily steps, I noticed the large number of girls taking part in this year's Mountaineer women's volleyball camp down on the Coliseum floor. All three courts were occupied with aspiring young volleyball players, which clearly demonstrates interest and enthusiasm in Reed Sunahara's program continues to grow.
When Sunahara took over the Mountaineer volleyball program in 2015, he said he had less than 25 girls at their first summer camp.
He is expecting nearly 70 alone for his prospect camp taking place later today.
* I read something recently in Forbes Magazine where the NCAA has approved three more bowl games bringing the number to 43 for 2018-19. That means 86 teams will be playing in bowl games this year, which also means even more 5-7 teams are going bowling this year.
Why?
Because coaches, local community organizers and the TV networks continue to push for more bowl games, that's why.
And don't forget, a bad bowl game still gets better TV ratings than most college basketball games, that is until the calendar flips to February and March.
* Did you happen to catch West Virginia assistant coach Erik Martin's comments on the website athleticdirectoru.com regarding the recently completed tumultuous year in college basketball and its possible impact on recruiting for 2018-19?
Martin was part of a roundtable discussion featuring UC-Davis head coach Jim Les, Bethune-Cookman head coach Ryan Ridder and ESPN.com college basketball insider Jeff Borzello.
Here is what Martin had to say about the on-going FBI investigation into college basketball recruiting practices regarding so-called "one-and-done" prospects, "We have not changed our approach to recruiting; many of the young men we recruit are three and four-star players that are unlikely to leave in the first several years of their college careers. We have always been conscious of educating our student-athlete about dealing with agents and other people around them. You can't be around your student-athletes 24/7, but you can make them aware of those that prey on opportunities to get close to them and their families.
"It's usually easy for us determine who's 'in it' for the right reasons … many of those individuals who are willing to compromise their eligibility are so clear in their intention to get to the next level, that they immediately raise a red flag in the recruiting process. Moreover, as the recruiting process reaches its conclusion, we can sometimes gain deeper insight into who we're dealing with by the type of schools (ones known for cheating) that he's involved in at the end."
Martin also was asked about the grass-roots structure of developmental basketball being fundamentally flawed.
"Without a doubt there are flaws, but AAU basketball is still the best way to evaluate student-athletes in basketball," he noted. "The issue is the dynamic of the three constituencies involved in that process, the first being the shoe companies who pay for all of those prospects' expenses, who have the relationships with the prospects and expectations of a return on their investment. The other is the AAU coaches who also expect something in return for securing the commitment of the players. Lastly are the event organizers, who are charging $500 for 'recruiting packets' that are full of wrong information. Many times, coaches don't even need that information, or need to evaluate the prospect, they just need to be seen by that student-athlete … and so they are functionally paying for that through this mismanaged system."
Good stuff.
Here is the link to the entire roundtable discussion: https://athleticdirectoru.com/articles/experts-roundtable-a-new-era-of-basketball-recruiting/
* Last week, former WVU pitcher Michael Grove received a $1.2 million bonus from the Los Angeles Dodgers to sign a contract to begin his professional baseball career.
Grove was chosen in the second round of last month's Major League Draft, going 68thoverall. The total amount the Dodgers paid Grove was reportedly $1,229,500, which makes his signing bonus the most ever earned by a Mountaineer player.
Righthanded pitcher Chris Enochs received $1.204 million to sign with the Oakland A's after being selected 11thoverall in the 1997 Major League Draft.
All-America shortstop Jedd Gyorko's bonus was $614,700 to sign with the San Diego Padres when he was taken in the second round, 59thoverall, in the 2010 Major League Draft.
By far, Gyorko has earned the most money in professional baseball of any Mountaineer player, the St. Louis Cardinals third baseman making $11 million this year ($2 million of that is still coming from the San Diego Padres) with his combined bump slated to go to $16 million for the 2019 season, according to the website spotrac.com.
At the conclusion of his current contract in 2020, Gyorko is expected to earn more than $40 million.
Not too shabby, Jedd!
By the way, he's currently hitting .256 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs in 74 games heading into Friday night's game against Cincinnati.
West Virginia's other Major Leaguer, lefthanded reliever Harrison Musgrave, has appeared in 19 games so far this season for the Colorado Rockies where he has an 0-3 record with a 4.26 earned run average in 25.1 innings of work.
On June 13, Musgrave was reinstated from Colorado's bereavement list but has pitched just 8.1 innings since.
* And finally, I had this forwarded to me from Bert Woodard regarding former All-America wrestler Sam Kline, now a commercial real estate broker in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.
Sam was recently honored as Coldwell Banker's "Protégé of the Year" for the entire CBC national network at its recent Commercial Global Conference in Charlotte.
He was also recognized No. 1 in Coldwell Banker's National Emerging Broker Training Program for the Class of 2017.
The Elkins, West Virginia, native once placed third at the 1999 NCAA Championships in 174-pound division in State College, Pennsylvania, competing for former WVU coach Craig Turnbull.
Congratulations, Sam!
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Heading into the season, quarterback Will Grier is clearly the conference's marquee offensive player - as Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield was last year - and David Sills V is the nation's top returning touchdown catcher from 2017, so those two were obvious choices.
Left tackle Yodny Cajuste has drawn rave reviews for his athleticism and abilities protecting Grier's blindside so his pick was not surprising, nor was outside linebacker David Long Jr., whose 18-tackle, seven-TFL performance last year against Oklahoma State goes down as one of the great individual defensive efforts in school history.
The four this year are the most ever for West Virginia on the preseason team, besting the three (Josh Lambert, Nick Kwiatkoski and Karl Joseph) who made it in 2015, and Grier's pick as the preseason offensive player of the year matches Geno Smith's selection in 2012.
Strong cases could also be made for senior wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr., whose 97 catches and 1,096 yards ranks among the top returning wide receivers in the conference, and senior safety Dravon Askew-Henry, whose 39-game totals include 160 tackles, four interceptions and 4 ½ tackles for losses.
Both should be contenders for postseason awards, as should emerging sophomore free safety Kenny Robinson, who displayed an uncanny knack for making big plays as a true freshman last season.
Offensive linemen Josh Sills and Colton McKivitz, wide receivers Marcus Simms and T.J. Simmons, and blossoming nose Darius Stills are others who could contend for postseason recognition if the Mountaineers perform well this year.
I can see TCU defensive lineman Ben Banogu as the league's top defensive player, and the Horned Frogs' KaVontae Turpin is easily the league's biggest game changer in terms of special teams. He is also a player who could challenge Grier, among others, for offensive player of the year honors if TCU has a big season.
I guess really the only surprising aspects of this year's preseason All-Big 12 team come on the defensive side with the absence of any Oklahoma players on it and three Texas Tech players making the squad.
According to ESPN's Jake Trotter, it's the first time since 1999 that Oklahoma has failed to have at least one defensive player make the Big 12's preseason team, while the Red Raiders, once the butt of jokes for their inability to stop anybody, displayed dramatic improvement in 2017 with David Gibbs running the defense.
It's the first time Texas Tech has had a defensive player on the preseason All-Big 12 team since defensive lineman Pete Robertson was picked in 2015.
Incidentally, just 13 WVU players have been selected to the All-Big 12 preseason football teams since the Mountaineers joined the conference in 2012, with Joseph being the only repeat choice in 2014-15.
More summer sports notes …
* Yesterday, the Big 12 announced its preseason media poll and West Virginia finished second to Oklahoma, as it also once did in 2012. Back in 2012, the Sooners held up their end of the deal, tying Kansas State for first overall with an 8-1 Big 12 record while West Virginia finished in a four-way tie with Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU for fifth with a 4-5 mark.
A lot of comparisons have been made this summer between this year's team and that 2012 squad (strong offense and questionable defense), so it will be interesting to see how things play out.
The guess here is that Tony Gibson's defense will fare far better in 2018 than the one West Virginia put on the field in 2012 did.
* Former WVU All-America guard Jevon Carter recently wrapped up NBA Summer League Tournament play in Sacramento by averaging six points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games for the Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged 21 minutes per game for Memphis, which won one game and lost two.
Yesterday, he scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out eight assists in the Grizzlies' opening game of the Utah Tournament against Oklahoma City. They play again on Saturday.
Also, former Mountaineer standout forward Devin Williams appeared in four games for the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento where he averaged five points and 3.8 rebounds. The Kings were 1-3 in summer league play there.
Once summer play is finished, next up for Carter and the Grizzlies is preseason training camp leading into their first preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, Oct. 4, at Wells Fargo Center.
* ESPN.com college basketball writer Jeff Borzello recently examined this year's recruiting needs for each top-25 team in 2018. Regarding 13th-ranked West Virginia this is what Borzello wrote, "Bob Huggins is in solid shape. Of course, if there's attrition or some newcomers don't fit Press Virginia well, he could need reinforcements."
* Moving along, here are a couple of summer sports lists …
CBSSports.com crunched the numbers to come up with its yearly "Best in College Sports Award" based on a formula that emphasizes sports with more broad fan bases and media interest.
So, generally speaking it's a perception deal as much as it is reality, but as we know these days perception is sometimes more important than reality.
At any rate, this year West Virginia tied Virginia Tech for 23rdwith 308.5 overall points, which ranked fourth among Big 12 teams.
Oklahoma was fourth, Oklahoma State 17thand Texas was 22nd.
By the way, local rival Pitt finished 95thwith 96.5 points, one point below Toledo and four points above the Air Force Academy. Only Georgia Tech, also of the ACC, finished lower than the Panthers among Power 5 programs in CBS' yearly athletic department perception poll.
Interesting.
Meanwhile, college football expert Bruce Feldman recently came up with his list of the top 50 "college football freaks," based on his conversations with coaches, players and sports information directors.
West Virginia's Yodny Cajuste was 13thon Feldman's list, who wrote in The Athletic, "The Mountaineers' offense is loaded this year and Cajuste isn't the only freak of the group."Wide receiver Gary Jennings almost made our list thanks to his 38-inch vertical, 4.05 pro shuttle time and 400-pound bench, but the 6-5, 320-pound Cajuste was our clear choice. The former high school basketball player from South Florida bench pressed 495 and dead lifts 735. Cajuste's 1.65 10-yard split would have best Kolton Miller's 1.67 that was the top time by any offensive lineman at the NFL Scouting Combine this year and would have beaten any time in the previous three years in Indy. Cajuste also broad jumps 9-2."
Feldman's top college football freak last year was Penn State's Saquon Barkley, taken second overall in last spring's NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
Feldman has yet to unveil his top 10 college football freaks for 2018. I wonder who he will pick as No. 1 this year?
And, could David Sills V be in his top 10?
* Do you remember Joe Sykes? He played defensive end briefly for Rich Rodriguez in the early 2000s before finishing his college career at Southern University. Well, at 35 he is still playing football in the Arena League and earlier this spring he set the Arena League record for career sacks as a member of the Albany Empire.
Speaking of former players, I believe I saw somewhere that Angel Estrada is still playing as well. It was Estrada's playmaking skills as a hybrid linebacker/safety that provided the extra push for the Mountaineers to switch to the 3-3 stack defense where he became a spur safety. Of course, a version of this defense is still being used today by current defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.
* While taking a late-morning break to get in some of my 10,000 daily steps, I noticed the large number of girls taking part in this year's Mountaineer women's volleyball camp down on the Coliseum floor. All three courts were occupied with aspiring young volleyball players, which clearly demonstrates interest and enthusiasm in Reed Sunahara's program continues to grow.
When Sunahara took over the Mountaineer volleyball program in 2015, he said he had less than 25 girls at their first summer camp.
He is expecting nearly 70 alone for his prospect camp taking place later today.
* I read something recently in Forbes Magazine where the NCAA has approved three more bowl games bringing the number to 43 for 2018-19. That means 86 teams will be playing in bowl games this year, which also means even more 5-7 teams are going bowling this year.
Why?
Because coaches, local community organizers and the TV networks continue to push for more bowl games, that's why.
And don't forget, a bad bowl game still gets better TV ratings than most college basketball games, that is until the calendar flips to February and March.
* Did you happen to catch West Virginia assistant coach Erik Martin's comments on the website athleticdirectoru.com regarding the recently completed tumultuous year in college basketball and its possible impact on recruiting for 2018-19?Martin was part of a roundtable discussion featuring UC-Davis head coach Jim Les, Bethune-Cookman head coach Ryan Ridder and ESPN.com college basketball insider Jeff Borzello.
Here is what Martin had to say about the on-going FBI investigation into college basketball recruiting practices regarding so-called "one-and-done" prospects, "We have not changed our approach to recruiting; many of the young men we recruit are three and four-star players that are unlikely to leave in the first several years of their college careers. We have always been conscious of educating our student-athlete about dealing with agents and other people around them. You can't be around your student-athletes 24/7, but you can make them aware of those that prey on opportunities to get close to them and their families.
"It's usually easy for us determine who's 'in it' for the right reasons … many of those individuals who are willing to compromise their eligibility are so clear in their intention to get to the next level, that they immediately raise a red flag in the recruiting process. Moreover, as the recruiting process reaches its conclusion, we can sometimes gain deeper insight into who we're dealing with by the type of schools (ones known for cheating) that he's involved in at the end."
Martin also was asked about the grass-roots structure of developmental basketball being fundamentally flawed.
"Without a doubt there are flaws, but AAU basketball is still the best way to evaluate student-athletes in basketball," he noted. "The issue is the dynamic of the three constituencies involved in that process, the first being the shoe companies who pay for all of those prospects' expenses, who have the relationships with the prospects and expectations of a return on their investment. The other is the AAU coaches who also expect something in return for securing the commitment of the players. Lastly are the event organizers, who are charging $500 for 'recruiting packets' that are full of wrong information. Many times, coaches don't even need that information, or need to evaluate the prospect, they just need to be seen by that student-athlete … and so they are functionally paying for that through this mismanaged system."
Good stuff.
Here is the link to the entire roundtable discussion: https://athleticdirectoru.com/articles/experts-roundtable-a-new-era-of-basketball-recruiting/
* Last week, former WVU pitcher Michael Grove received a $1.2 million bonus from the Los Angeles Dodgers to sign a contract to begin his professional baseball career.Grove was chosen in the second round of last month's Major League Draft, going 68thoverall. The total amount the Dodgers paid Grove was reportedly $1,229,500, which makes his signing bonus the most ever earned by a Mountaineer player.
Righthanded pitcher Chris Enochs received $1.204 million to sign with the Oakland A's after being selected 11thoverall in the 1997 Major League Draft.
All-America shortstop Jedd Gyorko's bonus was $614,700 to sign with the San Diego Padres when he was taken in the second round, 59thoverall, in the 2010 Major League Draft.
By far, Gyorko has earned the most money in professional baseball of any Mountaineer player, the St. Louis Cardinals third baseman making $11 million this year ($2 million of that is still coming from the San Diego Padres) with his combined bump slated to go to $16 million for the 2019 season, according to the website spotrac.com.
At the conclusion of his current contract in 2020, Gyorko is expected to earn more than $40 million.
Not too shabby, Jedd!
By the way, he's currently hitting .256 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs in 74 games heading into Friday night's game against Cincinnati.
West Virginia's other Major Leaguer, lefthanded reliever Harrison Musgrave, has appeared in 19 games so far this season for the Colorado Rockies where he has an 0-3 record with a 4.26 earned run average in 25.1 innings of work.
On June 13, Musgrave was reinstated from Colorado's bereavement list but has pitched just 8.1 innings since.
* And finally, I had this forwarded to me from Bert Woodard regarding former All-America wrestler Sam Kline, now a commercial real estate broker in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.Sam was recently honored as Coldwell Banker's "Protégé of the Year" for the entire CBC national network at its recent Commercial Global Conference in Charlotte.
He was also recognized No. 1 in Coldwell Banker's National Emerging Broker Training Program for the Class of 2017.
The Elkins, West Virginia, native once placed third at the 1999 NCAA Championships in 174-pound division in State College, Pennsylvania, competing for former WVU coach Craig Turnbull.
Congratulations, Sam!
Have a great weekend, everyone.
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