The Shotgun/Throwdown (4/24/18): Oakland Raiders Sign Former WVU Standout Daryl Worley

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

Football

Oakland Raiders sign DB Daryl Worley | USA Today
The Oakland Raiders have signed former Mountaineer defensive back, Daryl Worley, after his recent release from the Philadelphia Eagles. Worley joins fellow Mountaineers Bruce Irving and Karl Joseph in Oakland.

Examining WVU's best -- and other -- all-time NFL drafts | Charleston Gazette-Mail
Mountaineer safety Kyzir White is projected to be selected anywhere from the second to fourth round. Other than that, no WVU player is a lock to be drafted.

5 things that need to happen for West Virginia to win Big 12 in 2018 | Diehards
The 2018 season may represent West Virginia's best chance at winning a Big 12 title since it joined the conference in 2012. West Virginia has some of the best offensive firepower in the country, and several big conference games at home. Still, a lot needs to go right for the Mountaineers to finally take home their first conference title.

Looking back at WVU players in the NFL Draft | The Times WV
Take a look back at WVU players in the NFL Draft.

WVU football hosts several key recruits | Charleston Gazette-Mail
It has been a busy week across the college football world. Spring games are wrapping up around the country, and programs are taking advantage of the new NCAA rule that allows juniors to take official visits in the spring.

Basketball

Fairmont Senior’s Taevon Horton to walk-on at WVU | WV MetroNews
Fairmont Senior standout guard Taevon Horton announced this past weekend he will be walking-on at West Virginia.

College basketball's Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for 2018-19 after NBA draft early entry deadline | ESPN
The deadline for early entrants to declare for the NBA draft has passed, so ESPN re-evaluated the early top 25 for 2018-19. With so many players testing the waters yet not signing with an agent, it's more art than science.

West Virginia signee Jordan McCabe performed like top 5 prospect during AAU circuit, per ESPN | Diehards
The 4-star West Virginia point guard signee is ranked outside of the top 100 nationally, but he performed like a top five prospect during the AAU circuit.

Baseball

WVU Faces Marshall in Charleston Tuesday | West Virginia Athletics
The Mountaineers travel to Charleston to take on their in-state rival Marshall tonight at Appalachian Power Park. WVU has won the last four meetings between the two teams, boosting their all-time record against the Herd to 45-24.

WVU baseball loses to K-State, but wins weekend series | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The Mountaineers won the first two games in their series with Kansas State this past weekend. Highlights from WVU’s wins this weekend can be seen below, along with coach Mazey’s postgame interview following Sunday’s loss to end the series.

Mazey Seeking More Strikes From WVU Pitchers | West Virginia Athletics
West Virginia baseball coach Randy Mazey needs his pitchers to step up as the Mountaineers look to have a strong conclusion to the 2018 season.

WVU Athletics

Gardner, WVU track team impress at UVA | The DA
The West Virginia University track and field team finished the Virginia Challenge with 10 top-10 performances on Saturday in Charlottesville.

Big 12 Wins Second Straight George Mason Invite | West Virginia Athletics
WVU helped the Big 12 claim victories in four of the nine finals to win the George Mason Invitational this past weekend.

Around the Big 12

All Big 12 teams favored in early Week 1 lines set so far | Diehards
All four Big 12 teams with lines set for the opening weekend of the season are favored.

5 things that need to happen for Oklahoma to win Big 12 in 2018 | Diehards
Plenty needs to happen for Oklahoma to win the Big 12 in 2018. But here are five of the most important items on the list.

Josh Jung wins Big 12 Player of the Week after monster performances against OU, New Mexico | Diehards
Texas Tech's Josh Jung hit for the cycle against New Mexico, and his monster performance has been rewarded by the Big 12.

Which member of the Avengers is your favorite Big 12 football team? | Diehards
Check out which member of the Avengers WVU was compared to in this interesting article.

Around the NCAA

Do Alabama recruits think Nick Saban is retiring soon? | SBNation
Saban’s latest moves don’t suggest the coach is planning to walk away soon.

Alabama’s QB competition is tight now, but just wait until 2019 | SBNation
While Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts duke it out to start in 2018, the Tide have recruited the position extra heavily for next year.

TODAY’S FBS TEAM PREVIEWS BY BILL C

As always, SB Nation’s Bill Connelly is working his way through every Division I FBS football team, from Georgia State to Alabama. Check out the teams Bill has already previewed by clicking HERE.

Sonny Dykes’ SMU should be an AAC contender by 2019 | SBNation
Sonny Dykes inherits a program on the rise, but it will take him a little while.

Temple could be UCF’s primary AAC East threat in 2018 | SBNation
Geoff Collins’ Owls could make a run toward 10-plus wins if the pass defense holds up and the offense sustains last year’s late gains.

Navy’s 2018 could depend on ... the passing game? You read that correctly | SBNation
Ken Niumatalolo’s squad is loaded at QB, but the supporting cast wasn’t quite up to snuff last year.

College football video games back in 2020? ‘Gridiron Champions’ announced | SBNation
A little hope on the horizon for those who want their games back? We’ll see.

Parrot to make the Day 3 pick for the Buccaneers at the NFL Draft | SBNation
Tampa Bay is going with a bird.

NHL playoffs: Be afraid of the Nashville Predators | SBNation
The Predators beat the Avalanche in Game 6. Here’s why Nashville is so dangerous going forward in the playoffs.

---

Have any tips, suggestions or requests for what you want to see in The Shotgun/Throwdown? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us on social media.

Follow us!
Twitter: @smokingmusket
Facebook:The Smoking Musket