West Virginia Offensive Coordinator Jake Spavital Working to Flip Four-Star Quarterback

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

Football:

The Stages of Sul: Rasul Douglas' Journey to the NFL | EerSports - 247Sports
A look at the journey Rasul Douglas took from high school to the NFL.

Michael Ferns leaves WVU football team | Charleston Gazette-Mail
West Virginia fullback/tight end Michael Ferns has left the football team, a source told the Gazette-Mail. The engineering major decided to step away from football and focus on academics. He was named second-team academic all-Big 12 in November.

Basketball:

Bob Huggins feels good, especially about WVU men’s basketball team’s freshmen | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Seeing that what took him to the Coliseum floor Monday night couldn’t take him out of the game, and understanding Bob Huggins was more interested in bragging about what his freshmen did against Texas than what atrial fibrillation did to him near the end of the first half, it came as no surprise the West Virginia coach had merely a brief update Thursday on the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference.

Mountaineers Steadily Falling into Place Just Ahead of March | EerSports - 247Sports
The Mountaineers are rounding into form as the season winds down.

West Virginia’s Ahmad could be flight-time decision Friday | WV MetroNews
Hampered by a lower-back strain, forward Esa Ahmad will be a takeoff-time decision Friday as to whether he accompanies West Virginia on its two-game road swing to TCU and Baylor.

West Virginia Athletics:

WVU Earns One Silver and Two Bronze On Day 2 | WVU Athletics
The West Virginia University swimming and diving team won a silver medal and two bronze medals on the second day of the 2017 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.

Thrasher, Babic Earn Top GARC Honors | WVU Athletics
West Virginia University rifle standouts Ginny Thrasher and Milica Babic won two of the top individual honors at the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships banquet Thursday evening at the University of Akron’s InfoCision Stadium, in Akron, Ohio.

No. 2 Mountaineers Travel to GARC Championships | WVU Athletics
The No. 2-ranked West Virginia University rifle team competes for its eighth straight Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships title Feb. 24-25, at the Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House, in Akron, Ohio.

Spavital Working to Flip Four-Star QB | EerSports - 247Sports
When Fresno (CA) Clovis West quarterback Adrian Martinez committed to California last November, he did so to Head Coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, two offensive gurus that have a proven track record with grooming quarterbacks. Since then, both men have moved on. While Dykes took on an analyst role with TCU, Spavital took over the reins of the offense at West Virginia - and he wants Martinez to follow him.

Where West Virginia stands on its top targets for 2018 | WV MetroNews
On the heels of a 51st-ranked recruiting class in 2017, West Virginia’s football staff has two primary reasons to believe it can produce a better haul in 2018.That 10-win season, for one, and a more stable head coaching scenario thanks to Dana Holgorsen’s contract extension.

WVU signee, South Charleston grad Brandon Knapper opening eyes | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Something special is going on in South Charleston. Via Chatham, Virginia. En route to Morgantown and WVU’s basketball team. His name is Brandon Knapper, a South Charleston High graduate now playing hoops at Hargrave Military Academy. If you’ve lost track of him, it’s time to again find the scent.

Around The Big 12:

Big 12 roundtable: Top storylines of spring practice? | ESPN
Two Big 12 storylines stand above the rest this spring: Will the Texas schools rebound, and will the league champ make the College Football Playoff?

Must-win and trap games of 2017: Kansas State Wildcats | ESPN
A midseason showdown at home against Oklahoma won't mean as much without two victories earlier in the season for Kansas State.

Must-win and trap games of 2017: Kansas Jayhawks | ESPN
Central Michigan in Week 2 is a big game for coach David Beaty and Kansas. Baylor, meanwhile, can't afford to overlook the Jayhawks in November.

Must-win and trap games of 2017: Iowa State Cyclones | ESPN
Two games against Texas and Texas Tech will be keys as Iowa State hopes to return to the postseason.

Johnathan Motley has become the unlikely face of Baylor basketball | SBNation
In his first year as a full-time starter, Motley has turned into a player-of-the-year candidate for one of the best teams in the country.

Around The NCAA:

Hugh Freeze’s Ole Miss faces NCAA doomsday. SEC rivals prep for either transfers or trouble | SBNation
Some rivals are already eyeing potential transfers, but the SEC damage could spread.

All 21 NCAA allegations against Ole Miss, ranked by zestiness | SBNation
ACT test fixing: that’s both bad and interesting. Letting a player crash on a couch, though?

OLE MISS IS HAPPENING AGAIN | Every Day Should Be Saturday
THE MOST STEREOTYPICAL OLE MISS THING THAT COULD HAPPEN WILL HAPPEN

UAB football returns in 2017 from a super dumb hiatus. How’s it gonna go? | SBNation
Just by taking the field this fall, the Blazers have already won. Now to win some games.

Bracketology 2017: North Carolina jumps to the top line | SBNation
Baylor drops to a two seed, while Villanova, Kansas and Gonzaga join the Tar Heels at the top of the bracket.

Today's Miss Throwdown is my soccer bae. She's a FIFA World Cup champion with the US Women's National Team, and is currently the teammate of former West Virginia women's soccer star Kadeisha Buchanan on Olympique Lyonnais in France. CLICK HERE for Alex Morgan's Instagram.