Archive for February, 2013

WVU Coach Mike Carey

WVU Forward Jess Harlee

K-State Coach Deb Patterson

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Earlier today, WVU Quarterback Geno Smith and Wide Receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey stole headlines at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Between Smith throwing very well, Austin running a 4.25 unofficial forty-yard dash, and Bailey showing off his good hands, the West Virginia trio managed to keep people talking, including NFL Network Draft Analyst, Mike Mayock.

Smith threw the ball with confidence executing the five and seven step drop while throwing the dig, corner, post, go and post corner route with accuracy. Here’s Mayock’s comments on Geno Smith:

“I saw everything that I saw on tape about Geno, and that is he flashed everything you want to
see in a franchise quarterback on tape during the season. He has a big arm, good arm, he moves well, he can be accurate. Everything I saw on tape I saw here today. He’s a natural thrower; he doesn’t force the ball. What I go back to is I don’t care as much about this – I’m happy he did this because it just shows me he’s not afraid. Cam Newton did it and he didn’t throw the ball well and he still was the first pick in the draft. To me, it’s more important what you see on tape. I want to bang the table because I want to like Geno Smith. We interviewed him, I love what he had to say, but there are just too many inconsistencies on tape for me to say that Kansas City or anybody that high should take him. He’s more of a 20-32; I’ve said that based on watching six of his games. I’m going to watch the rest of them, but there are just so many inconsistencies with both Geno Smith and the entire quarterback class that I trouble banging the table for any of them.”

As for Tavon Austin, the speedster showed off today by clocking in at 4.34 officially in the forty-yard dash. Austin was able to prove his straight line speed. Here is Mayock’s thoughts on Austin:

“You’ve heard me say a thousand times probably: fast guys run fast, and it’s not a story. So I expected him to run fast. But what it does for him is that worst – case to me, he’s a second-round pick. Worst case. If you buy into him as a route runner and toughness, and if you can get him enough touches every game for him, he might be a first-round pick. The NFL has evolved into more and more of a college look; spread the field, get the football in the playmaker’ hands, and that’s what he is. He’s a playmaker, he’s a mismatch. I can only imagine being a nickel [back] or a safety and having to line up across from him in a slot knowing he runs a 4.35, knowing how quick he is. He’s really a difficult matchup and that’s what this league is. So I think all that time does is just endorses exactly what we thought of him on tape.”

Finally for Stedman Bailey, he excelled during the dreaded gauntlet drill, proving he is a great pass catcher with a natural instinct for the football. Here is Mayock’s thoughts on Bailey:

“Stedman Bailey is really a good football player. There are questions about his size. How fast is
he? He’s probably a 4.5 or whatever he is. What I see is an instinctive, smart receiver that catches [the ball]; he’s a natural hands-catcher, and because [Tavon] Austin and Geno Smith get all of the attention, he kind of fell into the background. But if you watch him in the red zone on tape and his understanding and knowledge of route running and defenses, he’s one of the more smarter and instinctive receivers in this draft. I’d be surprised if he gets out of the third round.”

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West Virginia Quarterback Geno Smith showed everything related to being the top overall quarterback taken in the draft. First of all, he had the fastest forty-yard dash of all the quarterbacks. Next, he was able to the throw the ball effectively without any glaring mistakes. Below are his official workout numbers.

40 Yard-Dash: 4.59 seconds
Vertical Jump: 33.5 inches
Broad Jump: 124 inches

Where Smith Shined – Throwing the Football – As the top rated quarterback by most NFL draft gurus going into the draft, Smith helped himself solidifying that projection. Today in Indianapolis, Geno Smith threw the ball with confidence and with ease. He executed the post corner route probably better than any other quarterback within his group. The post corner, being Geno Smith’s bread and butter that he threw to Stedman Bailey throughout his college career, Smith dropped it in perfectly. Also for Smith, as everyone knows, his arm strength is tremendous. By throwing today, he was able to show off that cannon so NFL scouts and coaches could see for themselves if he has the arm to become a franchise quarterback. Finally, a little thing of notice is Smith’s natural movement while throwing simple slant, posts, corner, dig and go routes was that he always kept his eyes downfield before releasing the football. Instead of focusing on the receiver, Smith’s natural progression in the five and seven step drop showed he had the know-how and field vision to drop back as if he was in game. Smith certainly proved he made the right decision by throwing today.

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The Biletnikoff Finalist, Stedman Bailey had a solid combine. While his workout numbers don’t reflect a freak athlete, he did well clocking in a 4.52 on the forty-yard dash, which ended up better than expected. Below are Bailey’s workout numbers.

40 Yard-Dash: 4.52 seconds
Bench Press Reps: 11 reps
Vertical Jump: 34.5 inches
Broad Jump: 117 inches

Where Bailey Shined – Gauntlet Drill – Bailey didn’t turn any heads during the workout portion of the NFL Combine. The truth is Bailey isn’t the workout warrior, so he needed to do what he does best, catch the football. While the gauntlet drill shows nothing that will happen in game, it gauges how well a receiver reacts to and catches the football. Bailey was phenomenal going 14 for 14 catching every ball thrown at him during the two times he did the drill. The Miramar HS graduate, Bailey did exactly what he was supposed to. NFL teams are going to see that Bailey is one of the best pure pass catchers in the receiver class. During the gauntlet drill, Bailey was able to catch the ball away from his body proving his hands. Once Stedman Bailey gets in a camp he will be able to do one thing for sure, step in and catch the ball.

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Tavon Austin took little time to impress NFL scouts today, stealing the show and upping his draft stock by standing out in the forty-yard dash. Austin is certainly a projected first round pick. Here are his official workout numbers:

40 Yard-Dash: 4.34 seconds
Bench Press Reps: 14 reps
Vertical Jump: 32 inches
Broad Jump: 120 inches

Where Austin Shined – Forty-Yard Dash – Austin turned heads of NFL coaches and scouts after running an unofficial 4.25 forty-yard dash on his first attempt. Before it was docked down to 4.34 officially, Austin put up the fastest forty-yard dash since Clemson’s Jacoby Ford ran a 4.28 during the 2010 combine. Even though Austin’s time was moved down to 4.34, he did enough to prove he has straight line speed. Coming into the combine, NFL decision makers knew that Austin was fast laterally. Anytime scouts or coaches turned on Austin’s film they could see his game speed, in addition to his ability to shift and make defenders miss. Today verified the fact that Austin maintains the straight line speed to succeed at the next level. Also, because Austin was able to run well, NFL teams that considered Austin a fringe first rounder today, know that he is worthy of that pick. Another added bonus for Austin is that there are NFL teams that will find a way to scheme their offense to create opportunity for that type of speed.

Austin’s 40-Yard Dash/Courtesy: YouTube

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Former WVU Center Joe Madsen completed his workout at the NFL combine. Here are his official workout numbers:

40 Yard-Dash: 5.20 seconds
Bench Press Reps: 25 Reps
Vertical Jump: 25 inches
Broad Jump: 98 inches
20 Yard-Shuttle: 4.83 seconds

Where Madsen Shined – Pull Drill – Madsen showed today the ability to snap the football take a good pull step and move with acceleration while doing so. Granted, nothing is done in pads so take it for whatever its worth, but since Madsen showed strength in doing so, he has value to NFL teams. Snapping the ball and pulling is valued because there are very few centers that can do it at a high level. At West Virginia, there were a few plays for Madsen where he pulled from the center position. If Madsen can do that at the next level it will give an NFL team an added option in the run playbook that gives defenses a different look with the center pulling as opposed to the guard pulling.

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As each Big 12 School opens up Spring Camp, I’ll put together a Spring Practice preview for the DA’s Sports Blog. Earlier today, Texas and Head Coach Mack Brown opened up their spring session.

Start Date: February 21st
Spring Game: March 30th (Longhorn Network)

Top Story Lines:
It is David Ash’s time to take control of the Longhorn offense. Mack Brown has already come out and said that Ash will have all the snaps as the starting quarterback throughout the season. Ash’s inconsistency was a major part of Texas’ downfall during 2012. Ash needs to be the quarterback that threw eleven touchdowns compared to just three interceptions in his first five games, instead of the guy that was deservedly benched for Case McCoy in games against Oklahoma, Kansas, and TCU. Ash needs to take charge under new offensive coordinator, Major Applewhite, because if he can’t McCoy and true freshman Tyrone Swoopes will be in thick of things throughout the spring.

The defensive end position will be a battle throughout the spring. Considering Alex Okafor has graduated and is moved onto the NFL, Texas will be trying to replace the 52 tackles and 13 sacks from the defensive end. Add the fact that Jackson Jeffcoat still recovering from the torn pectoral, he’ll be limited. That means Cedric Reed who played after Jeffcoat’s injury will be put in a leadership type role across the defensive front. On the other side possibly Reggie Wilson, Shiro Davis or even redshirt freshman Bryce Cottrell will get looks. Davis has solid speed, so look for him to be a perfect fit opposite Jeffcoat and at least be a strong third down pass rushing option.

Mack Brown cannot stray away from running the football despite Major Applewhite taking over as offensive coordinator. Texas will try to run a more up tempo offense, but it doesn’t mean the Longhorns should move away from their strength. At times Texas was dominant in the run game during 2012. With the top four rushers back, Joe Bergeron, Malcolm Brown, Johnathan Gray, and Daje Johnson all back for 2013, Texas needs to continue to pound the football. As much as the Longhorns maybe want to put the ball in David Ash’s hands more with that more up tempo offense shining through, Applewhite and company can’t neglect the strength which is the running back position. With so much depth the spring will be a smart time for Texas to define roles in the backfield. Clearly Brown is the workhorse, Gray is the most talented, Johnson can catch the ball out of the backfield and finally Bergeron can do a little of everything. If Applewhite can figure out what situations these guys fit, the Texas offense will be better in 2013.

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Both FootballScoop.com and Mitch Vingle of the Charleson Gazette are reporting that Dana Holgorsen will hire Stanford Tackles and Tight Ends Coach, Ron Crook to be the new West Virginia offensive line coach.

Crook spent time at his alma mater, West Liberty State, Cincinnati, Clarion College, Glenville State, West Virginia Tech, Illinois and Harvard before joining the Stanford staff. During his tenure in Palo Alto, Crook coached standout tight ends Coby Fleener and Zach Ertz as well as standout tackle Jonathan Martin.

This move comes just a week after former WVU offensive line coach, accepted the same position at Oklahoma.

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Big 12 Spring Football begins today with Texas opening up practice. They will hold their spring game as some of the other schools are in the thick of practice. As for West Virginia, their key dates begin with a March 10th open and an April 20th Spring Game. Below are each of the open and Spring Game dates for each school:

Baylor:
Opens Practice: March 1st
Spring Game: April 6th
Iowa State:
Opens Practice: March 26th
Spring Game: April 20th
Kansas:
Opens Practice: March 5th
Spring Game: April 13th
Kansas State:
Opens Practice: April 3rd
Spring Game: April 27th
Oklahoma:
Opens Practice: March 6th
Spring Game: April 13th
Oklahoma State:
Opens Practice: March 11th
Spring Game: April 20th
TCU:
Opens Practice: March 1st
Spring Game: TBA
Texas:
Opens Practice: February 21st
Spring Game: March 30th
Texas Tech:
Opens Practice: March 24th
Spring Game: April 20th
West Virginia:
Opens Practice: March 10th
Spring Game: April 20th

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On Friday, WVU Head Coach Dana Holgorsen announced the signing of running back Jacky Marcellus (Immokalee HS/Immokalee, FL). Marcellus rated as the No. 18 all-purpose running back by Rivals.com gives West Virginia much needed depth at the running back position.

With Marcellus, in addition to the signings of Wendell Smallwood, Dreamius Smith and Elijah Wellman, WVU should maintain much needed help for Andrew Buie, Dustin Garrison and Cody Clay.

“Offensively, we had depth problems at running back last year,” said Holgorsen, “Being able to add Dreamius Smith, Wendell Smallwood and Elijah Wellman will give us a tremendous amount of depth. When you throw in (Andrew) Buie and (Dustin) Garrison, we have some bodies.”

Buie has had great performances like rushing for 207 yards with two touchdowns against Texas and rushing for 100 yards and a score against Kansas. The reality for Buie is that he cannot be an every down back. He plays recklessly, which means his body would have a hard time getting through a full season with the way he plays.

Now Buie will be the atop the depth chart, but as proven, he needs other guys to contribute so that he can be productive.

First and foremost, Garrison needs to be back to full form so that he can have the ability to play every down again. Having should be truly recovered from the knee injury, Garrison can provide WVU with more pass catching ability out of the backfield. Back in 2011, Garrison’s freshman season, he was able to catch screens, bubbles and even streak routes down the middle of the field. When he did that, he was able to provide WVU with a spark.

Add in Dreamius Smith as a bigger back and WVU has an ideal three headed monster. Dreamius Smith rated as one of the top JUCO running backs nationally, has had his style of play compared to what Shawne Alston did for WVU. Because Alston was never fully healthy, Head Coach Dana Holgorsen never was able to find consistency between three running backs of three different styles. Now if everything goes well during spring ball with Buie, Garrison and Smith all set to practice, he should have that entering the 2013 season.

Factor in what Smallwood, or Marcellus can do as a possible third down back or all-purpose type back, WVU should have very strong depth.

Finally as a blocking back or in Holgorsen’s offense is known as the ‘A’ Back, Cody Clay understands what Holgorsen asks him to do. Expect Clay this season even to be used split out in the slot to give West Virginia a bigger target over the middle. Clay could serve as a security blanket for either Paul Millard or Ford Childress in the red zone. Holgorsen will get creative and find ways for Clay to get more involved in 2013.

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