Mountaineer Morning Links: Wednesday (7/31/13) Edition

Camp primers, "bowl" predictions, 2 more football commitments, pro updates including WVU Pros, Big 12 roundup & more

By WVUIE97@WVUIE97 Jul 31, 2013, 8:56am EDT

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What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Now: Wednesday, July 31 - WV MetroNews
WVU’s 2014 football recruiting class continues to grow, plus Rick Trickett talks about WVU quarterback Clint Trickett.

College Football Bowl Projections for 2013 - AthlonSports.com
Ummmmm... (you should know it when you see it)

HUNH Offense--Macro Analysis on Impact to Defenses - Shakin The Southland
part 1 of a series of posts designed to explore and attempt to prove or disprove that hypothesis in a data driven approach.

News of Note:

Tale of the Tape - WVU Athletics
Jed Drenning takes a closer look at WVU's two transfer additions.

Opinion: Trickett owns inside track - WV MetroNews
This is Trickett’s job to lose.

Big 12 football: West Virginia still acclimating, and vice versa - Oklahoman (autoplay)
For the first time since 2010, the Big 12 enters a season with the same schools as the year before. But that doesn’t mean everyone is acclimated.

HERTZEL COLUMN: Travel is no excuse for losses - Times West Virginian
“I’ve never bought into that,” Holgorsen said. “It doesn’t bother me one bit. I will never use travel as an excuse for a win or for a loss.”

Many questions left to be answered as WVU enters camp - Daily Athenaeum
Here are five story lines to watch for as the Mountaineers enter camp:

Spain has high expectations for 2013 - Daily Athenaeum
“My goal for this season is to be (a) first-team all-Big 12 and a first-team all-American,” Spain said at Big 12 Media Days in Dallas. “For the team, our goal is to be Big 12 champions and try to play in the national championship.”

WVU Position Primer: RBs - DA Sports Blog
Here’s how each guy could fit into the offense as WVU enters camp:

Get set for the Big Five - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Now, fault WVU's move to the Big 12.

WVU loses Big East records - Times West Virginian
Notebook

Recruiting:

Ohio Offensive Lineman Becomes Newest WVU Commitment - WVillustrated
prep offensive lineman Walter Rauterkus (Avon, Ohio) just became the fourth recruit to commit to the Mountaineers within the last week.

Two for Tuesday - WVSports.com
West Virginia kept the momentum rolling Tuesday afternoon adding its second offensive line commitment of the day when Elkton (Md.) Eastern Christian Academy offensive lineman Jamie Herr pledged to the Mountaineers.

Holgorsen Learning East Coast Recruiting at WVU - WVillustrated
"I've got so many ties in Texas, we've taken some guys out of Texas. It's helped us in Texas, but we're not going to make our living in Texas," Holgorsen said from Big 12 Media Days. "It would be challenging for us to compete against everybody in this room, recruiting-wise, recruiting the same areas as them. It'd be challenging."

Pro News:

Does New York Jets QB Geno Smith have a better arm than Mark Sanchez? - NFL Videos
New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith has better arm strength and accuracy than Mark Sanchez at practice, according to Heath Evans, but Brian Baldinger calls Smith's conditioning level "embarrassing."

Rex: Geno impressive, still needs improvement - Green and White Report via BGN
With the signal-caller competition heating up in Cortland N.Y., New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan is taking the good with the bad when it comes to rookie QB Geno Smith.

Geno Smith - Looking Good In The Zone - Gang Green Nation
There are a lot of aspects to keep an eye on regarding the New York Jets Quarterback battle, production in the red-zone may be one of the most important. Early signs indicate Geno Smith is making himself comfortable there.

Chants of “Bruuuuce” echo through Seahawks training camp - Pros Report
After leading all rookies last season in sacks, the Seahawks want Bruce Irvin on the field more as a dual-threat defensively. So far, the experiment is working beautifully.

Focus on: Bruce Irvin - Seahawks.com
Bruce Irvin led all NFL rookies with eight sacks as a rush-end last season. This year, the Seahawks are using him at strong-side linebacker as well, and Irvin is making plays regardless of where he’s playing.

The market heats up for Devin Ebanks - Pros Report
Now that Summer League is over and teams have a better grasp of their rosters, Ebanks is starting to draw interest