Jovon Durante Flourishing In Inside Receiver Role For West Virginia

After a less than inspiring start to the season, Jovon Durante has emerged as a top target for Mountaineer quarterback Skyler Howard.

By Michael Miller@uncle_drank Oct 10, 2016, 11:30am EDT

Welcome, By-Godders, to The Shotgun/Throwdown: WVU's best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.

Football:

Jovon Durante flourishes in new role for WVU | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Jovon Durante was suspended before West Virginia’s win in the Cactus Bowl and then for all of spring football, and when he returned to the team, he was asked to move from wide receiver to inside receiver. It probably wasn’t surprising then to see Durante go without a catch in the first two games this season, never mind his fast start as a freshman last year, when he caught 10 passes for 182 yards and two scores in his first two games. In the last two games, though, Durante has a team-high 13 receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown that won a game against Kansas State.

Noel Devine puts finishing touch on his WVU days | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Morgantown mornings still start early for Noel Devine. But, these days, 6 a.m. workouts are replaced with 7:30 a.m. anatomy classes. No more playbooks, so textbooks now can occupy all of his study time. One of the greatest student-athletes in West Virginia University history is now back on campus as a 28-year-old student, finishing course work for his bachelor’s degree.

TCU Sold Out; New Three Game Mini-Package On Sale | WVU Athletics
The Mountaineer Ticket Office has announced that the West Virginia University football game with TCU on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, is officially sold out.

Basketball:

WVU’s Elijah Macon finally feels totally focused on basketball | Charleston Gazette-Mail
When Elijah Macon finally arrived on West Virginia’s campus, he had ambitious goals. "I thought I would come in and honestly be a big part of it," he said. Hard to fault him for that. The 6-foot-9, 238-pound Macon was a top-50 player and a top-15 power forward in his recruiting class. He was on two AAU national championship teams, and the summer circuit is where, when and how many players earn their reputations.

West Virginia Athletics:

No. 1 Maryland in Town for Top-25 Matchup | WVU Athletics
The No. 22 West Virginia University men’s soccer team hosts No. 1 Maryland on Monday, October 10, at 7 p.m. ET for a top-25 matchup at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

No. 2 Mountaineers Extend Win Streak | WVU Athletics
The No. 2-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team pushed its win streak to five with a 2-0 victory at Iowa State Sunday afternoon at the Cyclone Sports Complex.

WVU’s Ginny Thrasher takes bronze at World Cup | Charleston Gazette-Mail
West Virginia University sophomore Ginny Thrasher won the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air rifle Saturday at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Final for Rifle/Pistol in Bologna, Italy.

Mountaineer coaches go coast-to-coast in search of talent | Charleston Gazette-Mail
With the bye week, West Virginia coaches hit the road recruiting, literally going from coast-to-coast to evaluate and be seen by the nation’s top prospects. Some of the stops were not that surprising. Others most certainly were — and resulted in a couple of new, intriguing offers.

Around The Big XII:

Big 12 Week 6 bowl projections: Oklahoma Sooners back in Sugar Bowl | ESPN
Eight of the 10 teams in the Big 12 are projected to bowls for now, but Texas and Texas Tech are in precarious positions.

Big 12 Week 6 power rankings: Oklahoma, K-State on the rise | ESPN
West Virginia, which won it's past two games by a total of four points, will get its first true road test at Texas Tech.

Big 12 early look: Key road tests await for K-State, West Virginia | ESPN
Are there more nail-biters on the way in Week 7 in the Big 12? Here are the top storylines to watch.

Big 12 Week 6 helmet stickers: Super day for Oklahoma Sooners | ESPN
Dede Westbrook is the catch of the day for Oklahoma, setting a school single-game receiving record with 232 yards.

Big 12 offenses not making it easy for Big 12 defenses | Charleston Gazette-Mail
During his first five seasons and 64 games as West Virginia’s football coach, Dana Holgorsen’s teams failed to score 30 points 20 times. It’s happened twice in four games this season. But this is not a story about offense, or the lack thereof. It’s about the man who was supposed to bring offense back to the Mountaineers as they transitioned to the Big 12 and is instead daring to bring defense to the nation’s most prolific offensive conference.

Around The NCAA:

Updated 2016 bowl projections, with clear paths to the College Football Playoff | SBNation
Your weekly look at predictions for all 40 college football bowl games, freshened up after Week 6.

A year after making the Playoff, Michigan State might not even make a bowl game | SBNation
The Spartans made the Playoff last year. This year, they might not even make a bowl.

This Utah interception required 4 amazing things to go right at once | SBNation
Week 6 awards! The best coach celebration, a run that didn’t count, sideline interception, and a bunch of other stuff.