Saturday was a scrimmage. A lot of players didn’t get much action either because they are entrenched and don’t need extra hits on them — Dion Lewis — or banged up — Ray Graham, Jabaal Sheard and Hynoski.
The O-line is the biggest question mark as far as a unit that does not have the excuse of injury ravaging (secondary).
As expected, Wannstedt and offensive line coach Tony Wise are trying to figure out a puzzling situation on an inexperienced offensive line. The book ends, tackles Jason Pinkston and Lucas Nix, are still trying to jell with three new starters.
“We’re still working through some things,” Wannstedt said of the offensive line. “Right now, it’s two good plays and one bad play. The consistency with our offensive line is not where it ought to be right now. We have more experience on defense, so it’s going to be a work in progress.
“It’s not going to get solved today. It’s not going to get solve the first day of training camp.”
That was echoed by Zeise in his blog-dump. The center position is still unknown, though, Alex Karabin appears to have the spot over Lippert. Depth is also a concern, as there are hints that the back-ups are a noticeable drop-off.
Zeise also raves about how redshirt freshman DT Tyrone Ezall is playing. Greg Williams seems pretty shaky at linebacker. As for the secondary, there is optimism once the safeties get healthy.
Also, because the receivers are so good, we’ve gotten a good chance to see just how good the corners really are and I’m going to go out on a limb with this one (and if I am wrong, I’m sure some of you will remind me) — Saheed Imoru and Antwuan Reed – the two starting corners – will be better than Jovani Chappel and Aaron Berry were last year, both individually and as a tandem. Reed to me, along with Cross, are the most improved players on this team — coach kept telling me Reed could play even though every time I watched him last year he was struggling but I’ll tell you what, he’s taken the bull by the horns so to speak and he’s had a great spring. Once the safeties get healthy, this secondary could be really, really good. And that’s a good thing because I think the secondary was torched a few times last year and probably cost them the N.C State and Cincinnati games.
The lack of healthy bodies at the safety spot was echoed in a weak piece that somehow managed to completely whiff on the existence of Saheed Imoru and that he is penciled in as a starting CB. Glaring misses on a perfunctory story focused on injuries to the safeties makes it entirely forgettable.
The fact that we have quality depth at nearly every offensive skill position (other than DB or LB). Means that our guys who need work get against other talent.
It’s great to see us slowly turning back into a power. A couple of years of sustained dominance could help us start to land elite talent. I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel
Imoru scares me — I’ve heard both glowing and doomsday-like things about him. Has anyone actually seen him play? His ability to step in and step up right away is going to be the key for this secondary.
Big East blog
ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett writes about all things Big East in his conference blog.
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College Football Nation
West Virginia officials wouldn’t comment on the specifics of the allegations, but a source close to the situation said the allegations center on former Mountaineers coach and current Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez.
Michigan is currently under investigation for alleged NCAA rules violations concerning the amount of time players spend on football-related activities.
“The NCAA has met with individuals involved with the West Virginia football program to identify any potential rules violations,” school officials said in a statement, released on Tuesday. “The university has fully cooperated with the NCAA during this process. West Virginia University and its department of intercollegiate athletics is committed to operating its athletics department in conformance with the legislation and policies of the NCAA and the Big East Conference.”
Michael Fragale, West Virginia’s assistant athletics director for communications, said neither athletics director Ed Pastilong nor football coach Bill Stewart would comment on the NCAA inquiry. He would not specify when NCAA investigators visited the university.
On Feb. 23, Michigan officials announced the NCAA had accused its football program of five potentially major rules violations. In its notice of allegations, the NCAA alleged Rodriguez “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program.”
The report said Rodriguez tracked neither what his staff was doing nor whether his players were following NCAA rules, particularly those limiting the time spent on practice and football-related activities.
During a news conference in which the NCAA allegations were announced, incoming Michigan athletics director David Brandon expressed full support for Rodriguez, who has an 8-16 record in two seasons at Michigan.
“Rich Rodriguez is our football coach, and he will be our football coach next year,” Brandon said at the time.
The NCAA also alleged that Michigan’s athletics department failed to monitor whether its football program was complying with NCAA rules. Brandon acknowledged that Michigan’s athletics department “clearly made mistakes,” but said “there was no charge of loss of institutional control,” an allegation that in previous cases has led to more severe NCAA-imposed sanctions for other schools.
Before leaving West Virginia, his alma mater, to replace Lloyd Carr as Michigan’s coach before the 2008 season, Rodriguez was one of the most popular coaches in West Virginia history. He had a 60-26 record in seven seasons from 2001 to 2007 and guided the Mountaineers to two BCS bowl games.
But Rodriguez’s abrupt departure before the 2008 Fiesta Bowl was contentious, and the school sued him for a $4 million buyout.
Rodriguez and West Virginia settled the case in July 2008, as Michigan agreed to pay $2.5 million of the buyout and Rodriguez agreed to pay the remaining $1.5 million in three installments.
Especially if Pitt remains in the Big East we need to have a strong, competitive West Virginia year in and year out. A rivalry is at its best when both teams are at the top. Would anything be better than seeing an undefeated Pitt playing an undefeated WVU with everything on the line?
I too would hope that UM gets sanctioned for RichRod’s indiscretions but nonetheless, there is precedent for schoools being penalized for wrongdoings of former coaches.
Zeise also praises Cross in his blog and today’s exclusive article on him. I think Cross’ diverse skills and the fact that he’s a Senior gives him an edge on the other the backups fighting for PT. I can see Cross playing as a slot receiver who catches, runs and even throws on occasion, like Antwan Randle El did with the Steelers. But, there is always the conservative-Wanny factor, so I won’t get too excited about seeing that yet.
