West Virginia's Offensive Options Impressive

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

Football:

WVU offensive options impressive | Charleston Gazette-Mail
There was other news on the windy, cool but sunny day at the brand new Antoline Family Practice Field. It had to do with the West Virginia offense. In sum, it was impressive.

Defensive depth chart a purely speculative exercise this spring | WV MetroNews
With crucial junior-college signees scheduled to arrive in May, and numerous position battles only beginning to ramp up, a defensive depth chart at this juncture would be more speculative than usual.

Mountaineers' running back depth a Shell of its former self | Beckley Register-Herald
It hasn’t been that long since the West Virginia University football team was the envy of nearly all of college football when it came to running back depth.

Benton assumes leadership role as middle linebacker | Exponent Telegram
The junior middle linebacker from New Jersey figures he’s patiently put in his apprenticeship and is ready now to take his turn, having learned at the knees of some pretty fair players named Nick Kwiatkoski, Jared Barber, Shaq Petteway, KJ Dillon and, of course, Karl Joseph.

Holgorsen, Wickline shared ideas, philosophies long before WVU | Charleston Gazette-Mail
This couldn’t have been a simple move for Joe Wickline, a celebrated offensive line coach coming to a team that already had an offensive line coach. He took over as West Virginia’s offensive coordinator ahead of others who surely thought they were worth at least considering for the title.

Drones give new view of practice for WVU | Exponent Telegram
West Virginia is one of the few football programs in the country — if not the only one — which not only has its spring practice approved by the NCAA but by the FAA.

Photo gallery: West Virginia opens spring practice for first time | WV MetroNews
Photo coverage from the Mountaineers’ first open practice of the year on the newly renovated practice facility outside of Milan Puskar Stadium.

Baseball:

WVU Clinches Series with 4-3 Win over No. 16 OSU | WVU Athletics
Senior left-hander Ross Vance and back-to-back home runs led the West Virginia University baseball team to a 4-3 victory over No. 16 Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.

WVU can’t complete sweep, but earns vital series win against No. 16 OSU | The Daily Athenaeum
After a pair of thrilling victories to open up the weekend series against the nation’s No. 16 team, the Mountaineer offense faltered as they were unable to capture the sweep.

Calm approach leads to hot weekend for Cramer | The Daily Athenaeum
For a hitter, breaking out of a slump seems like an elementary thing: Relax at the plate, try not to chase bad pitches, don’t feel like you have to hit a home run every time up. In real life, it’s never that easy. But West Virginia first baseman Jackson Cramer used that formula to a T this weekend as he broke out of a rough patch to power the Mountaineers to a crucial series win over No. 16 Oklahoma State.

No. 16 Cowboys romp 8-1 to deny West Virginia series sweep | WV MetroNews
Oklahoma State’s Jensen Elliot tossed shutout ball into the ninth, leadoff man J.R. Davis hit for the cycle and West Virginia’s search for a rare conference sweep stalled with an 8-1 loss Sunday.

WVU Falls in Finale to No. 16 Oklahoma State | WVU Athletics
The West Virginia University baseball team lost the series finale against No. 16 Oklahoma State, 8-1 on Sunday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.

WVU Athletics:

Mountaineers T-11th at Mason Rudolph | WVU Athletics
Rebounding with a team score of 297 in the final round, the West Virginia University golf team moved up one spot to tie for 11th place at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tennessee, on Sunday.

Around The Big XII:

Oklahoma Suffers Worst Final Four Loss In Tournament History | Crimson And Cream Machine
Live by the three, die by the three right? Well Oklahoma has been living by the three all season but their season died by it Saturday in Houston.

How the wheels came off for Oklahoma in the biggest Final Four blowout ever | SBNation
Buddy Hield had one of his worst games ever, and the Sooners never got off the ground. It was a staggeringly brutal night at the office in the Final Four.

Buddy Hield Wins Naismith Trophy | Crimson And Cream Machine
Buddy Hield has wowed an entire nation throughout the Sooners magical run to the Final 4. Even though that run ended in a less than desirable fashion last night, that doesn't diminish what Buddy Hield accomplished this season.

Around The NCAA:

Syracuse vs. North Carolina final score, 2016 Final Four: Tar Heels dominate Orange, move on to final round | SBNation
The Tar Heels are heading to the national title game for the first time since 2009.

Villanova and UNC have blown everybody out in the NCAA Tournament, and now we get to watch them play | SBNation
The Wildcats and Tar Heels have been utterly dominant in the NCAA Tournament. Monday night's national title game should be a good one.

2016 NFL mock draft: A new writer provides a different perspective | SBNation
Josh Doctson could find his way in the top 10 if he ends up being the first wide receiver off the board.

Here's what was wrong with police calling Tennessee's coach about this rape allegation | SBNation
As a former lawyer for an investigative agency, I see a clear problem.

Meet Tom Hackett, the best prospect yet in Australia's NFL punter pipeline | SBNation
Two-time Ray Guy Award winner Tom Hackett flew across the world to earn a scholarship. He learned how to hate BYU, and now he's ready for the pros.

Power rankings for every 2016 college football conference, one by one | SBNation
Just want the big highlights of Bill Connelly's quest to preview every single FBS team in great detail? Here are the conference wrapups as he finishes each one. Follow along each weekday!

Mountaineers cultivate Michigan connection | Charleston Gazette-Mail
During their late-June prospect camp last summer, West Virginia hosted over 100 recruits from around the country. The biggest contingent, though, was a bus full of a few dozen players from Michigan.

Today's Miss Throwdown is an Italian model and BikiniTeam's Model of the Month for April. CLICK HERE for Susanna Canzian's Instagram.