Mountaineer Morning Links: Monday (7/6/15) Edition

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by Semper FI.P.A from Young Veterans Brewing Company.

Buchanan Wins Hyundai Young Player Award | WVU Athletics
WVU's Kadeisha Buchanan won the Hyundai Young Player Award.

WVU athletic director Lyons open to Big 12 expansion | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After Oklahoma’s president pushed for it, Shane Lyons said he’s open to expansion, but the conference is "in a great spot."

Long Battle Ahead for WVU’s Young Wide Receivers | WV Illustrated
It's a big summer for WVUs wide receiver corps, especially for the younger guys to serve as depth in Dana Holgorsen's air-raid passing attack.

Vegas not as optimistic on WVU as fanbase | The Exponent Telegram
You would have hoped, four years back as West Virginia moved into the Big 12 Conference, that by now the football program would have gained enough creditability to be considered among the league’s legitimate championship contenders.

Hope signs with Dodgers | The Exponent Telegram
Garrett Hope was right. The one-time West Virginia football player, who gave up the sport this year to play baseball, made the right decision as he has been signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

FURFARI: WVU loses running back to a baseball family affair | Beckley Register-Herald
Garrett Hope was listed as a running back on West Virginia University’s 2014 football roster. But now he’s no longer a student-athlete at WVU.

Jets QB Geno Smith: 'I don't feel any pressure' | NFL.com
Geno Smith knows that the New York Jets need better quarterback play to return to the playoffs. The third-year signal-caller, however, isn't feeling the pressure to perform.

Nick Foles-to-Tavon Austin among 10 rising pitch-and-catch combos | NFL.com
The Rams' new play caller is intent on maximizing Austin's skills as a dynamic multipurpose threat on the perimeter.

N.C. running back commits to Mountaineers | The Charleston Gazette
As expected, West Virginia added its 15th commitment of the 2016 recruiting class on Saturday as North Davidson (N.C.) running back Kennedy McKoy announced his intention to join the Mountaineers. While he announced on July 4th, it was a choice that McKoy had been mulling for months.

Around The Big XII:

Proposed Baylor-Cal football game in Australia will not happen | Sporting News
It doesn’t look like big-time college football will invade Australia after all.

Around The NCAA:

Alabama self-reports 13 bizarre NCAA violations | Sporting News
Alabama self-reported 13 NCAA violations, from July 1, 2014, through June 30 of this year, according to a report obtained by TideSports.com Friday.

More than 16,000 NCAA athletes eligible to receive payment in video game settlement | Sporting News
Nearly 16,200 NCAA athletes can receive cash as part of a settlement with the NCAA, video game manufacturer Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company.

In case you missed it, the United States Women's National team won the World Cup last night. That makes three World Cup titles for the USWNT. To that we say...

To salute the United States Women's National team and their victory over Japan, today's Miss Throwdown is the one and only Alex Morgan. CLICK HERE for Alex's Instagram.