West Virginia quarterback Will Grier projected as one of college footballs breakout stars in 2017

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

Football:

College Football's Top 10 Early Projected Breakout Players for 2017 | Athlon Sports
Athlon Sports revealed their ten picks for 2017's college football breakout stars. Among them is West Virginia's quarterback Will Grier.

William Crest never threw a touchdown — or shade — at WVU | WV MetroNews
A member of the Rivals top 250 national recruits in 2014, Crest never started a game for the Mountaineers and plans to transfer for his final two seasons.

Basketball:

Nathan Adrian pacing No. 7 WVU in hard-to-see ways | Charleston Gazette-Mail
On Monday, when the new polls came out and the media placed West Virginia at No. 7 and the coaches put the Mountaineers at No. 8, the most valuable player on one of the best teams in the country could find his name in the top 10 of just four Big 12 stat categories.

Myers a major factor in latest win | The Exponent Telegram
Let us understand one thing about Saturday’s Texas game. But the most overlooked hero of the day was the one who saved the day early — guard Teyvon Myers.

West Virginia Athletics:

WVU Wrestling snags first victories of the season at Pitt Duals | The Daily Athenaeum
The WVU wrestling team tasted victory for the first time this season by earning a pair of victories on Saturday at the Pitt Duals.

Around The Big 12:

Big 12 QB battles in 2017 to feature strong cast of new contenders | ESPN
Several high-level recruits and experienced transfers, including Will Grier and Anu Solomon, will challenge for starting roles this offseason.

Early Big 12 Football Predictions for 2017 | Athlon Sports
The Big 12 embarks on another new era in 2017. The league passed on expansion to remain a 10-team league, but a conference championship game returns...

Around The NCAA:

3 Oregon football players reportedly hospitalized after ‘grueling’ offseason workouts | SBNation
Oregon says it’s "implemented modifications" to its training program.

Phillip Fulmer could return as Tennessee’s next athletic director | SBNation
He left his job as the Vols’ head football coach eight years ago.

EWU coach Beau Baldwin is Cal’s new OC. Here’s why that’s exciting. | SBNation
EWU’s coach lands in Berkeley as OC.

Roy Williams got custom shoes signed by Michael Jordan for his 800th win | SBNation
Michael Jordan autographed some shoes for the North Carolina coach, and his players loved it.

Sturgill Simpson killed it on Saturday Night Live this past weekend, and has finally started to gain some notoriety. Here's one of my favorites from a couple years ago.

Today's Miss Throwdown is an Canadian model and former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition Rookie of the Year. CLICK HERE for Kate Bock's Instagram.