Football

MORGANTOWN, WV - Earlier today, Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus revealed his top ten returning quarterbacks in college football. WVU signal-caller Garrett Greene was included on the list. https://twitter.com/pff_college/status/1757775954930274726?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw Greene came in at number 7, above fellow Big 12 quarterback Noah Fifita and Penn State Quarterback Drew Allar. After a solid 2023 season, many are expecting Greene to take the next step in 2024. The Mountaineers have a special player on their hands. He will be key for hopes at a conference title next season. (Photo by WVU Athletics) 

MORGANTOWN, WV - Moments ago, On3 revealed FanDuel’s win totals for all Big 12 schools in 2024. The West Virginia Mountaineers, who are coming off of a 9-4 season, are expected to win a surprisingly low amount of games. According to the totals, WVU is only expected to win 6.5 games in 2024. An asinine total for a team returning a plethora of talent. https://twitter.com/on3sports/status/1756749984643367103?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw The Mountaineers will have their first chance to silence the doubters when they welcome the Penn State Nittany Lions to town on August 31st. This matchup will set the tone for the season for West Virginia. With a victory, they will almost certainly jump to the top of the Big 12 Power Rankings. Proving naysayers wrong is nothing new to West Virginia. Who says they can’t do it again in 2024? (Photo by WVU Athletics) 

MORGANTOWN, WV - Moments ago, the West Virginia University Football team officially announced that their annual Gold-Blue Spring Game will be held on April 27th.   https://twitter.com/WVUfootball/status/1756039051415609436?s=20 According to a press release from the school, kickoff time will be announced at a later date. The Mountaineers are coming off of their best season of the Neal Brown era. After being picked to finish 14th in the Big 12, West Virginia finished with a 9-4 overall record with a 6-3 mark in league play. The 2023 season was capped off with a 30-10 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. (Photo by WVU Athletics)

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- Former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez, who is now the head coach at Jacksonville State, has led the Gamecocks to an 18-6 record in 2 seasons with the program. Now, Rodriguez has landed the son of one of his former players at West Virginia. Andre Devine, a senior running back from Fort Myers, Florida, is the son of Mountaineers' standout Noel Devine, and commited to play for Rodriguez at Jacksonville State. Devine, who has offers from UMASS, Marshall and USF, has 145 carries for 908 yards (6.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns in three seasons at North Fort Myers. His father, Noel, was one of the greatest players ever at West Virginia University, where he rushed for 4,315 yards and 92 TDs between 2007-2010. Noel Devine expressed his displeasure with West Virginia coaches Neal Brown and Chad Scott, who he said he was disappointed in for not following through on their offer to his son. Devine said the following: "My experience as a WVU player and as a person that loves Mountaineer fans is that a man's word is a man's word. Especially with my coaches. Neal Brown and Chad Scott verbally promised my son a scholarship and now they are backing out. So I guess this coaching staff can't be taken at their word. WVU needs to go back to its winning roots and get some of us to come back and coach and turn this program around to its old glory." Earlier today, Devine posted a picture of his son, Andre, Rich Rodriguez and himself with the following caption: "My college head coach Rich Rod recruiting my son at Jacksonville State. Life comes full circle." https://twitter.com/239Dre/status/1755598471850320167?s=20

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- According to multiple sources, former West Virginia defensive back Jahmile Addae is expecetd to become the next cornerbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills! Addae, 39, was a two-time All-Big East performer for the Mountaineers, and was the defensive secondary coach at West Virginia in 2019 and was the co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach for the Mountaineers in 2020. He left to become the co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach at Georgia in 2021 and was most recently the secondary coach at Miami. Congratulations to an outstanding coach, a true Mountaineer and an even better person! https://twitter.com/voicemorgantown/status/1755376807266623489?s=20

MORGANTOWN, WV - It did not take Nick Saban long to find his next venture. According to a report from On3, the legendary head coach will be a member of ESPN’s College Gameday next fall. https://twitter.com/on3sports/status/1755347244658635069?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw Saban spent the last 17 seasons as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. He accumulated a record of 209-21 with Alabama, including six national championships. He joins a star-studded cast that includes Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lee Corso. (Photo via Alabama Athletics) 

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- The landscape in college athletics is constantly shifting and all of the major conferences are always attempting to secure their place in the future of college sports. The Big 12 appears to be pushing more and more to the West, which is certainly not ideal for West Virginia University, who currently only has Cincinnati within reasonable driving range for fans hoping to travel with the team. With that said, although West Virginia is in a stable conference, they could potentially consider other conferences if the right situation became available. In an article released back in July by David Cook of ESPN, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips is quoted as saying, "The ACC has been and remains highly engaged in looking at anything that makes us a better and stronger conference. We've spent considerable time on expansion to see if there is anything that fits. We have a tremendous group of institutions but if there was something that made us better, we would absolutely be open to it." Cook said the following in his article: "Since the first major realignment dominoes fell with Texas and Oklahoma's decision to leave the Big 12 for the SEC happened in summer 2021, the ACC has explored possible expansion options, according to multiple league administrators." West Virginia has been mentioned as one of those teams that the ACC is keeping an eye on potentially adding. A potential move to the ACC would give West Virginia an opportunity to play geographic and historic rivals, but would West Virginia University really consider moving out of the stable Big 12 Conference? Would they move to the SEC if the top conference in the nation came knocking? There has been a lot of talk about this very subject on social media lately. Tony Altimore, a popular figure on social media, said the following recently: "My personal, (perhaps?) Unpopular Hot Take: If the SEC is going to expand beyond the state of North Carolina and Virginia, a key to consider is West Virginia. State flagship, great sports, rabid fans, owns the state, strong TV draw, rich history, great tradition at WVU." https://twitter.com/TJAltimore/status/1753589513723789514?s=20 Earlier today, popular X account, RedditCFB, posted the following idea with West Virginia ending up in the ACC. Their idea was that California, Stanford and SMU would move to the Big 12, and Cincinnati, UCF and West Virginia would go to the ACC. Their caption read, "It makes too much sense to actually happen." https://twitter.com/RedditCFB/status/1754942538081882369?s=20 This move does make a lot of sense right now, but ultimately the ACC could potentially fall apart in the coming years with Florida State likely to leave the conference. If Florida State leaves, Miami and Clemson, its other two top teams, would also likely move on, too. With that said, West Virginia would be wise to wait for the ACC to fall apart (which it will inevitably will do) and hope that the Big 12 will add geographic and historical rivals Pitt, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Louisville, etc. What are your thoughts? Should West Virginia consider moving to the ACC or SEC, or do you think that they should remain in the Big 12? Let us know in the comments!

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- Moments ago, the West Virginia football program got outstanding news when star running back announced that he is committed to Country Roads Trust in 2024 and will be in the Mountaineers' backfield again next season! Donaldson, a sophomore from Miami, Florida, rushed 171 times for 798 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, and had 526 yards on 87 carries as a freshman in 2022. Freshman phenom Jahiem White has already said that he will return, so the Mountaineers will have one of the top backfields in the Big 12 Conference next season. In addition to Donaldson returning, Jacolby Spells, a sophomore defensive back from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also announced that he is committed to The Country Roads Trust for 2024 and will play for the Mountaineers next season. Spells added depth in the secondary last season for West Virginia and is expected to earn even more playing time for the upcoming season. https://twitter.com/CountryRdsTrust/status/1754941520627540287?s=20

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- Moments ago, one of the top players in the state, Mykel Davis, decided to stay home and play his collegiate career at West Virginia University for the Mountaineers! Davis, a 6'2 185 pound wide receiver from Wheeling, West Virginia chose to accept a Preferred Walk-on over a scholarship from Morehead State. As a senior this year, Davis had 39 receptions for 828 yards and 11 touchdowns. Although Davis will not have a scholarship to begin his career at West Virginia, he has the size and skill to earn a scholarship for the Mountaineers as a wide receiver or defensive back during his time in  Morgantown. Neal Brown has said that he has made keeping homegrown players home, and he's certainly done that this season with the additions of Davis, Keyshawn Robinson (Jefferson), Abe Fenwick (Charleston) and Dominick Collins (Princeton). https://twitter.com/MykelDavis1of1/status/1754912915256181198?s=20 https://twitter.com/MykelDavis1of1/status/1746620152710369493?s=20  

MORGANTOWN, WV - Moments ago, former Martinsburg Bulldog Murphy Clement announced his commitment to West Virginia University via social media. https://twitter.com/murphy_clement2/status/1754674010300858624?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw Murphy, whose brother Hudson plays for the Mountaineers, was named the 2023 West Virginia Gatorade State Player of the Year. During his senior season with the Bulldogs, Clement passed for 1,673 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also tallied 1,128 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. https://twitter.com/voicemorgantown/status/1754680855291699287?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw  

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- Former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez, who is now the head coach at Jacksonville State, has led the Gamecocks to an 18-6 record in 2 seasons with the program. Now, Rodriguez is attempting to land the son of one of his former players at West Virginia. Andre Devine, a senior running back from Fort Myers, Florida, is the son of Mountaineers' standout Noel Devine, and is currently being recruiting by Rodriguez. Devine, who has offers from UMASS, Marshall and USF, has 145 carries for 908 yards (6.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns in three seasons at North Fort Myers. His father, Noel, was one of the greatest players ever at West Virginia University, where he rushed for 4,315 yards and 92 TDs between 2007-2010. Noel Devine expressed his displeasure with West Virginia coaches Neal Brown and Chad Scott, who he said he was disappointed in for not following through on their offer to his son. Devine said the following: "My experience as a WVU player and as a person that loves Mountaineer fans is that a man's word is a man's word. Especially with my coaches. Neal Brown and Chad Scott verbally promised my son a scholarship and now they are backing out. So I guess this coaching staff can't be taken at their word. WVU needs to go back to its winning roots and get some of us to come back and coach and turn this program around to its old glory." Earlier today, Devine posted a picture of his son, Andre, Rich Rodriguez and himself with the following caption: "My college head coach Rich Rod recruiting my son at Jacksonville State. Life comes full circle." https://twitter.com/voicemorgantown/status/1753871181466259872?s=20

MORGANTOWN, WV - Rodney Gallagher has quickly become a fan favorite in Morgantown. The incoming sophomore receiver may not have produced many stats on the field in 2023, but he is viewed as one of the key pieces of the future for the Mountaineers. Earlier this week, he sat down with the 1 Team Podcast to talk Mountaineer Football. During his time on the show, Gallagher made it a point to brag on the Mountaineer fanbase. https://twitter.com/gallagher120/status/1753041054012453030?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw Here is what Gallagher had to say about the fans traveling to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl: ”Like it’s just a different feeling when you’re in Morgantown, especially when you’re successful. Like we’re like the pro team in West Virginia…the fanbase is just like crazy.” Gallagher understands just what makes Morgantown special. The Mountaineers are the only show in town, and the fans will show up no matter the circumstances. Watch a clip from Gallagher’s interview in the tweet above.  

MORGANTOWN, WV - Earlier today, Neal Brown and the Mountaineers added to their 2024 recruiting class. Raymond Kovalesky, a multi-position athlete from the Linsly School in Wheeling, West Virginia, announced his commitment to the Mountaineers, via social media. https://twitter.com/raykovalesky52/status/1753119835670655020?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw Kovalesky, standing at 6’3” and weighing 225 pounds, listed himself as a tight end/fullback on his commitment post. He currently does not possess any recruiting rating from any major outlet. He will be a preferred walk-on. (Photo via WVU Recruiting) 

COVER PHOTO: WVU Athletics MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- According to multiple sources, two current members of the West Virginia football program are no longer a part of the team. As first reported by 247 Sports, DJ Oliver and Charlie Katarinic have left the Mountaineers' team. DJ Oliver, a freshman running back from Perry, Florida, has left the team but will not enter the transfer portal. The portal is currently closed and Oliver will have to wait until it re-opens in the Spring. Oliver, considered one of the team's best young future options in the backfield, rushed 12 times for 47 yards and 1 touchdown during his freshman season. He was supposed to get quality playing time in the Duke's Mayo Bowl while filling in for the injured CJ Donaldson, but he had a costly fumble early in the game and finished with only 2 carries for 9 yards. Charlie Katarinic, a 6'4 293 pound offensive lineman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has also decided to leave the team. Katarinic, a redshirt sophomore, played in two games last season (Duquesne and Cincinnati), but was expected to add depth to the offensive line next year. At this time, it's unclear why either Oliver or Katarinic decided to leave the team, but both were talented young players that were expected to contribute in the future.

MORGANTOWN, WV - Coming off of yet another impressive season with the Seahawks, former WVU Quarterback Geno Smith has been selected to the NFL Pro Bowl. https://twitter.com/wvufootball/status/1752481048934400095?s=46&t=cXIQ4JQG-pp-P6qrRwLwjw This marks the second straight Pro Bowl for Smith. The Seahawks did not qualify for the NFL Playoffs after finishing with a 9-8 record good enough for 3rd in the NFC West. Smith finished the 2023 season with 3,624 yards and 20 touchdown passes. (Photo by WVU Athletics)