The Shotgun/Throwdown (8/30/18): Will Grier Talks About What Makes the Best Quarterbacks

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

Football

Grier talks mental challenge at QB; Opener should open recruiting doors in Charlotte | Sports | wvnews.com
Will Grier talks about the mental aspect of playing the quarterback position, as well as the potential recruiting doors that could be opened for the Mountaineers after playing a game in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mitch Vingle: This WVU receiving corps could be the program's best | Mitch Vingle | wvgazettemail.com
If Mountaineer fans scroll through their memories, they will realize the WVU football program has had some nice talent at receiver over the years and this year's group could also end up as one of the best wide receivers in WVU history.

Big 12 football: Five bold predictions, order of finish | The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star has some bold predictions for the Big 12 that include the Mountaineers having an exciting season.

Unselfish attitudes lead the way for WVU football
West Virginia has the pieces for a memorable season and unselfish attitudes could help the Mountaineers be successful.

United Bank Playbook - Tennessee Preview - West Virginia Athletics
Check out the official WVU United Bank Playbook Preview for the season opener against Tennessee.

HERTZEL COLUMN: How important is the opener to the rest of the season? | Sports | timeswv.com
The result of the season opener could influence on the rest of the season, which would make the game even more important to Mountaineer fans than it already is at this point.

Baseball

Fall Baseball Schedule Announced - West Virginia Athletics
The WVU baseball team will be playing two big rivalry games in Morgantown this fall. The first is September is against Marshall, and the second in October will be another addition of the Backyard Brawl against Pitt.

West Virginia Athletics

No. 17 Mountaineers Open Home Slate - West Virginia Athletics
The West Virginia women's soccer team will face Xavier tonight in its home opener at Dick Dlesk Stadium at 7 p.m.

Piatczyc Earns First MAC Player of the Week - West Virginia Athletics
West Virginia men's soccer senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc been named the season's first Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Week.

Mountaineers Rank as High as No. 17 - West Virginia Athletics
The Mountaineers (0-1-3) are currently ranked at 17th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's Division I Top 25. They are also ranked 23rd in the Soccer America Women's College Top 25 and are currently receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's National Poll.

West Virginia Travels to Utah - West Virginia Athletics
The Mountaineer volleyball team will head to Provo, Utah to play in the BYU Nike Invitational. All three of WVU's opponents made the NCAA Tournament last season.

Millick, Shaffer Join Staff - West Virginia Athletics
The West Virginia gymnastics team has hired a new assistant coach and a new director of operations.

Former Mountaineers Flowers, Holton sign new pro deals in Argentina
Former WVU men’s basketball forward John Flowers has signed a contract with La Union Formosa in Argentina to continue his pro basketball career. Jonathan Holton has also signed to play in Argentina with Ciclista Olimpico de La Banda.

Around Big 12

Big 12 Basketball: Top 10 recruits joining the conference in 2018-19
The Big 12 conference saw its fair share of talent leave through the NBA draft and graduation, but there is new talent coming into the conference. Here's a look at the top ten freshmen in the Big 12 for the upcoming season.

Four Big 12 Teams Represented in Top 25 Poll - Big 12 Conference - Official Athletic Site
Four Big 12 programs were represented in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 after the second week of play and four others were receiving votes in the poll.

Around the NCAA

How to overreact to Week 1 college football - SBNation.com
There are many ways to overreact after the first week of college football, and here are some of the more prominent overreactions by fans around the country.

Louisville wants Bama - SBNation.com
The Cardinals are currently a 24.5-point underdog, which makes them one of the biggest underdogs of opening week despite the fact that they are a solid Power 5 conference program.

Antonio Brown, Gronk and other NFL stars reveal their big-play secrets - SBNation.com
SB Nation asked the NFL’s biggest playmakers how they get all that yardage.

The 3 habits of highly effective NFL offenses - SBNation.com
And they all have to do with the red zone. Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz breaks down what happens in the most important part of the field.

You could say things are heating up in Morgantown, as gameday approaches...

Arguably the greatest U.S. men’s soccer player of all time, Clint Dempsey announced his retirement from professional soccer Wednesday. Dempsey ended his career with 57 career goals for the U.S men’s national team, making him tied for first all time in U.S. men’s national team history.

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