New West Virginia assistant coaches waste no time hitting the recruiting trail

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

West Virginia Athletics:

Troy Clemons gets another year as WVU Mountaineer mascot | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Troy Clemons has been named West Virginia University’s mascot for another year. Clemons beat out three other finalists. His selection by a committee of faculty, staff and students was announced at the WVU men’s basketball game with Texas on Monday night.

Cottrell Earns Share of Big 12 Honor | WVU Athletics
After going 2-0 to cap his dual match career at West Virginia, senior Dylan Cottrell has been named the Big 12 Co-Wrestler of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday.

Mountaineers Prepped for Big 12 Championship | WVU Athletics
The West Virginia University swimming and diving team travels to Austin, Texas, to compete at the 2017 Big 12 Championship at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, from Feb. 22-25.

New WVU football assistant coaches wasting no time hitting the recruiting trail | Charleston Gazette-Mail
During their time at West Virginia, former assistants Blue Adams and JaJuan Seider built reputations as aggressive recruiters. Shortly after National Signing Day both departed for new jobs, and were replaced by Doug Belk and Tony Dews. The view from the recruiting trail, though, has not changed, with both new assistants beating the bushes hard over the last couple of weeks.

Around The Big 12:

Tim Beck prepared for the pressure at Texas | ESPN
The Longhorns' new offensive coordinator, Tim Beck, is no stranger to intense scrutiny after successful stops at Nebraska and Ohio State.

Chasing Oklahoma: Can Oklahoma State take down conference champs? | ESPN
If Oklahoma State wants to knock OU from its perch, the Cowboys have to play to their identity and remain aggressive on offense.

Oklahoma took advantage of the Texas recruiting powers faltering in 2016 | SBNation
The Sooners got it done while the Longhorns and Aggies lagged in recruiting.

Must-win and trap games of 2017: Baylor Bears | ESPN
Baylor's first road game (vs. Duke) and its last (in the regular-season finale vs. TCU) will be key tests in Matt Rhule's first season as coach.

Around The NCAA:

25 college football games to be excited about in 2017 | SBNation
We’ve got some great ones on the horizon.

How P.J. Fleck’s recruiting and scheme can pay off at Minnesota | SBNation
Fleck can recruit the Midwest. At UM, he’ll need athletes who don’t mind the cold.

Penn State has 2018’s way-too-early No. 1 recruiting class. Where will it finish? | SBNation
Where will it finish, and how will it compare to Ohio State and Michigan?

Appalachian State’s the kind of team nobody would want, if football had March Madness | SBNation
It’s the kind of team nobody would want to face, if football had March Madness.

Clemson transfer Scott Pagano heard from 37 schools. He now has 7 favorites | SBNation
Talk about a hot commodity.

2017 NFL mock draft: Trades could shake up the 1st round | SBNation
Which trades make sense? This week’s mock explores several options.

Pfffft. This dude has nothing on what Chan Whitt could do.

Today's Miss Throwdown is the 2017 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition Rookie of the Year. CLICK HERE for Bianca Balti's Instagram.