Isaiah Cottrell fully cleared to return for West Virginia

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

Football

Player development, on and off the field, remains a focus for Neal Brown

With a roster that contains over a hundred players, ten full-time on-field assistant coaches, and dozens of support staff members, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown oversees a large group of personnel. As the leader of the WVU football program, Brown makes it a point to facilitate development on and off the football field.

Pleased with play of safeties, Dontae Wright can’t help but notice improved offense

Entering his second season as West Virginia’s safeties coach, Dontae Wright is more comfortable than what he was a year ago. Wright has seen his group improve this offseason and he has also noticed the improvement being made on the other side of the ball for the Mountaineers.

Basketball

Isaiah Cottrell fully cleared for basketball

West Virginia forward Isaiah Cottrell is fully back to basketball after tearing his Achilles tendon during his freshman year. Cottrell made only 10 appearances for WVU in 2020-21 before his injury and averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in that span. The Mountaineer sophomore is expected to improve and will provide much needed depth for Bob Huggins’ team this year.

WVU men’s basketball to host charity exhibition game

The West Virginia men’s basketball team will host a charity exhibition game against Akron inside the WVU Coliseum on Friday, October 29th at 7 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund.

West Virginia Athletics

WVU Remains No. 12 in United Soccer Coaches Poll

The West Virginia women’s soccer team remains at #12 in this week’s edition of the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s Top 25 National Poll. The Mountaineers split a pair of matches last week to open the 2021 season, with a 4-0 win over Buffalo and a 1-0 loss to #4 Virginia.

WVU to Make Four Appearances on ESPNU

The West Virginia volleyball team will be playing four Big 12 matches on ESPNU this fall. The televised games include road matches at Kansas State and Iowa State, as well as back-to-back home matches against Kansas. WVU opens the season with the Old Dominion Tournament in Norfolk, Virginia, this weekend.

2021 Season Preview

Following a 10-match, spring-only campaign, the West Virginia men’s soccer team returns this fall with a point to prove. The quick turnaround has left the Mountaineers little time to look back on their most unusual campaign last spring, and instead force the group to dial in on the new challenges ahead.

Vallerand Named Student-Athlete of the Week

After scoring the game-winning goal in the Mountaineers’ 4-0, season-opening victory over Buffalo, junior defender Julianne Vallerand of the West Virginia women’s soccer team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week.

WVU president on Horns Down: ‘Fine me, please’

West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee is not afraid of the Big 12’s attempted crack down on the “Horns Down” hand gesture.

Alek Manoah maintains record pace in Toronto

The former Mountaineer pitcher Alek Manoah started his 13th game for Toronto against the Chicago White Sox, fanning five batters in six innings and allowing one run on five hits. Those five strikeouts bring his total up to 78 for his major league career, which is the most for a Blue Jay through his first 13 appearances.

Around the Big 12

Texas Tech names Oregon transfer Tyler Shough starting quarterback

Former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough, who transferred to Texas Tech this spring, has earned the Red Raiders’ starting quarterback job.

BU, ISU and TCU Receive Weekly Awards

Women’s soccer players from Baylor, Iowa State, and TCU were awarded with Big 12 weekly awards after the first week of the season.

Around the NCAA

Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 officially announce alliance to ‘stabilize’ current environment

The Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12 have announced an alliance that aims to “stabilize a volatile environment” throughout college athletics by collaborating on issues facing the industry and agreeing to create a future scheduling partnership.

Pac-12 commissioner to decide on expansion interests by end of week

The Pac-12 is expected to announce in the next few days if it is interested in adding new members to the 12-team conference.

Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne likely out for 2021 NFL season with Lisfranc injury

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie running back Travis Etienne will miss the entire 2021 season and will undergo surgery for a Lisfranc injury.

New York Knicks’ Nerlens Noel sues Rich Paul, Klutch; claims $58M loss in potential salary

New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel has filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his firm, Klutch Sports, claiming he lost $58 million in potential salary while he was represented by Paul from 2017 to 2020.

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