The Shotgun/Throwdown (4/16/19): West Virginia Adds JUCO Standout to the Roster

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

Football

WV MetroNews Koenning's defense off to running start, but has a passing concern - WV MetroNews
Vic Koenning’s top priority as a defensive coordinator is stopping the run. That being the case, his first dress rehearsal at West Virginia was an unqualified success.

WVU football notebook: Neal Brown offers first hints in Mountaineers' QB race | WVU Gameday | wvgazettemail.com
None of the players in the running to be the next starting quarterback for the Mountaineers were especially impressive during Saturday’s spring game in Morgantown. However, head coach Neal Brown may have hinted as to which way he might be leaning when it comes to the starting quarterback position.

WV MetroNews Three Guys Before The Game - Spring Game Recap (Episode 110) - WV MetroNews
It’s obvious Mountaineer Nation is intrigued by their new head coach as the third largest attendance in spring game history was recorded. Tony Caridi, Hoppy Kercheval, and Brad Howe discuss the implications of Saturday’s game and what it means heading into the off-season.

Spring Game Answers Some Questions, But More Questions Remain - West Virginia University Athletics
So, what did we learn after watching Saturday’s 96-play, split-squad Gold-Blue scrimmage? We learned that Neal Brown’s first Mountaineer football team is going to be a work in progress.

WV MetroNews West Virginia's offense heads into offseason still under construction - WV MetroNews
Austin Kendall looked like a potential starting quarterback, but the Mountaineer offense remained far from a finished product in the spring game. Kendall, the graduate transfer from Oklahoma, didn’t end up throwing the ball all that much. He finished 7-for-12 for 154 yards, with a large chunk coming on his 60-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Simmons.

WV MetroNews WVU spring game notes: Walk-on Abbott rewarded for work ethic - WV MetroNews
Mountaineers rewarded for spring efforts, run-blocking an off-season priority, plus injury updates from the spring game.

What I Think About West Virginia’s Spring Game and New Uniforms - The Smoking Musket
Check out a few thoughts on the spring game and the new uniforms for the Mountaineer football team.

2019 Iron Mountaineer Awards Announced - West Virginia University Athletics
West Virginia football players Josh Chandler, Reese Donahue, Colton McKivitz, and Alec Sinkfield were named the recipients of the 2019 Iron Mountaineer Award, presented to the most outstanding performers in WVU's offseason strength and conditioning program.

Abbott Receives the Tommy Nickolich Award - West Virginia University Athletics
WVU linebacker Jake Abbott, a redshirt sophomore from Fairmont, West Virginia, is the winner of the 2019 Tommy Nickolich Memorial Award.

Coveted wide receiver Devell Washington chooses West Virginia over Big 10 offers - The Smoking Musket
Head coach Neal Brown has gained a verbal commitment from Bay City, Michigan wide receiver Devell Washington.

Basketball

WV MetroNews Mountaineers add junior college shooting guard Sean McNeil - WV MetroNews
West Virginia addressed one of its biggest needs with the addition of shooter Sean McNeil, who has three years of eligibility remaining. McNeil brings an outside shooting touch to a team in desperate need of it. He averaged almost 30 points per game this past season, and also averaged over four three-pointers per game.

WV MetroNews McBride, Tshiebwe combine for 55 points to win Scott Brown Classic - WV MetroNews
Miles McBride and Oscar Tshiebwe teamed up for the first time, and it won’t be the last, as the West Virginia signees wrap up their high school all-star circuit before enrolling at WVU in June. Oscar Tshiebwe earned game MVP honors and won the slam dunk contest.

Baseball

Mountaineers Break Into College Baseball’s Top 25 - The Smoking Musket
Coming off three consecutive series victories against Top 25 opponents, the Mountaineers break into the rankings this week for the first time in 2019.

Manoah Repeats as Big 12 Pitcher of the Week - West Virginia University Athletics
For the second consecutive week, West Virginia junior right-handed starter Alek Manoah has been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. In a complete-game shutout against #11 Texas Tech on Friday, Manoah struck out a career-high 15 batters and held the Big 12's highest-scoring offense to four hits with no walks in WVU's 2-0, series-opening victory.

WVU drops series finale to No. 11 Texas Tech
The West Virginia baseball team’s four-game win streak came to an end with a 3-0 loss to #11 Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.

WVU baseball: Pitcher Alek Manoah sees stock rise with dominant run | WVU Gameday | wvgazettemail.com
Expectations were high for WVU junior, right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah coming into the 2019 season, with the Miami native appearing on the Baseball America preseason All-America second team.

West Virginia Athletics

Nike’s Global Identity Group - West Virginia University Athletics
West Virginia University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Nike's Global Identity Group (GIG) have partnered on a graphics and uniform package designed to further enhance the West Virginia brand on the national level.

Big 12 Golf Championship Pairings Set - West Virginia University Athletics
First day pairings have been announced for the 23rd annual Big 12 Men's Golf Championship at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The Mountaineers will be paired with Kansas State on Friday morning.

Huerta Qualifies for Dominican National Team - West Virginia University Athletics
Freshman Fausto Huerta of the West Virginia men's swimming and diving team qualified for the Dominican National Team. Huerta placed second in the 100-meter breaststroke and third in the 50-meter breaststroke.

WVU Takes Third at Rutherford Intercollegiate - West Virginia University Athletics
In spite of the rain, sophomore Matthew Sharpstene posted the lowest round of the tournament to lead the West Virginia golf team to a third-place finish at the 43rd Annual Rutherford Intercollegiate on Sunday at the Penn State Blue Golf Course.

Gardner Opens Bison Outdoor Classic with Win - West Virginia University Athletics
Redshirt senior Madelin Gardner of the West Virginia track and field team won the pole vault competition to open the Bison Outdoor Classic on Saturday.

WVU Exits Bucknell with Three More Top-Five Finishes - West Virginia University Athletics
The WVU track and field team concluded competition at the Bison Outdoor Classic on Sunday. The Mountaineers competed in five events on the final day of the two-day competition, earning top-five finishes in three of them.

Mountaineers Lead Big 12 to Second-Place Finish - West Virginia University Athletics
The West Virginia rowing team garnered 12 team points at the George Mason Invite on Sunday afternoon to lead the Big 12 Conference to a second-place finish.

Mountaineers Rally, Defeat Virginia - West Virginia University Athletics
In a match plagued by rain, the West Virginia women's soccer team tallied three unanswered goals in the final 11 minutes to defeat Virginia, 4-3.

WVU Drops Decision to No. 6 Texas - West Virginia University Athletics
The WVU tennis team gave the #6 Texas Longhorns a good fight but could not complete the upset, as the Mountaineers fell to UT, 6-1, on Sunday afternoon.

West Virginia Edged by Baylor - West Virginia University Athletics
The West Virginia tennis team dropped a close contest on Friday evening, as the Mountaineers fell to Baylor, 4-3, in Morgantown.

Men’s Soccer Team Holds Annual Banquet - West Virginia University Athletics
The West Virginia men's soccer team held its annual team banquet on Saturday. The Mountaineers honored their senior class and looked back on a 2018 season where they won the Mid-American Conference regular-season title and reached the NCAA Tournament's second round.

Mountaineers Awarded at Annual Banquet - West Virginia University Athletics
The West Virginia wrestling team celebrated the 2018-19 season with family, friends, and fans. At the event, first-year coach Tim Flynn and staff honored this year's seniors and handed out a number of yearly awards.

Meet the Mountaineers: Lindsay Proctor - West Virginia University Athletics
Throughout the spring semester, Mountaineer fans will have the unique opportunity to get acquainted with the West Virginia volleyball team. Next up is Lindsay Proctor.

Around the Big 12

Red Raiders visit Duke in Super Regional Rematch
The #11 Red Raiders wrap up their road trip with a single game at Duke on Tuesday night. It’s a rematch of a Super Regional series between the Red Raiders and Blue Devils last year that Texas tech won two games to one to head to the College World Series for the third time in the last five seasons.

Viktor Hovland Earns Low Amateur Status At The Masters - Big 12 Conference - Official Athletic Site
Oklahoma State junior Viktor Hovland finished with a 72-hole score of 285, 3-under par, to become the fourth Cowboy to earn Low Amateur status at The Masters on Sunday.

TCU basketball: Frogs land 6-foot-7 forward Mickey Pearson | Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TCU basketball picked up another commitment Monday. Mickey Pearson, a 6-foot-7 forward from Kentucky, announced his intentions of joining the Frogs. A former SLU commit, he’ll be eligible to play in 2019-20.

Around the NCAA

2019 AAC power rankings: UCF’s toughest quest yet - SBNation.com
UCF will have to survive road trips to Cincinnati and Temple, and maybe then beat Memphis for the fifth time in three years.

Is the improving San Jose State gaining any ground in the Mountain West? - SBNation.com
Brent Brennan has to hope he’s got a third-year leap in him like predecessor Mike MacIntyre did.

These advanced stats tell us which 2019 NFL QB prospects will be good - SBNation.com
Here’s how we should be projecting this year’s quarterback class, broken down in four tiers. Check to see where WVU's Will Grier lands in this projection!

2019 Masters: Tiger Woods, major champ again, is coming for Jack Nicklaus’ record - SBNation.com
On a day at Augusta National watching something we thought we’d never see again: Tiger Woods winning the Masters.

NBA Playoffs 2019: Tracking the 8 questions that will decide the league’s future
So much is at stake in this year’s postseason. Over the next few months, we'll be cataloging every playoff moment that might determine the answers to eight critical questions.

The 9 stages of Tiger Woods winning The Masters - SBNation.com
Tiger Woods has never won The Masters since Twitter existed. We all got to experience history.

The 2019 NBA Playoffs’ most interesting players, ranked - SBNation.com
Let’s take a look at the players we’ll be talking the most about during and after the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

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