WVU Pros

John Flowers back in Action and Other WVUPros Basketball Notes

2013-01-14T20:57:00.002-05:00

John Flowers

John Flowers last played for Denain Voltaire (France) on Dec. 7th. He was held out of the next four games and subsequent two week winter break with a paperwork issue. He led the team in scoring before that time at 20.6 points per game.

Flowers returned to Denain's lineup on Saturday night against Boulogne and picked up where he left off by leading the team in scoring with 19 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Denain lost the game, however, 104-87.

Kevin Jones

In the last five games, including last night's game against the Lakers, Kevin Jones has seen an increase in his playing time with the Cavs averaging nearly fifteen minutes per game. Against the Lakers, Jones played 16 minutes, scoring six points and added two rebounds and two steals. Devin Ebanks did not play.

Alex Ruoff

Ruoff knocked down two out of three three-point attempts for the Canton Charge against the Iowa Energy to finish with eight points, four assists and two rebounds. The Charge took down the Energy 93-84. They have now won seven of their last eight games.

Tyrone Sally

Sally continued his strong play for the Furstenfeld Panthers on Saturday night scoring 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting with four rebounds and four assists. As the Panthers lost to Gmunden 112-84. Sally averages nearly 12 points per game this season.

Tyler Urban added to WVU Coaching Staff as a Graduate Assistant

2013-01-14T19:44:00.001-05:00

One year after playing his last game as a Mountaineer, Tyler Urban will return to WVU and join Dana Holgorsen's coaching staff as an offensive graduate assistant and for quality control. Profootball Scoop originally reported the move, and confirmed to us by Vernon Bailey at WVSports.com

Urban went undrafted in last year's NFL Draft, but was quickly signed by the Tampa Bay Bucs. The team quietly let him go. He then signed with the New England Patriots before getting cut at the end of last August.

Urban is the fourth addition to the Mountaineer coaching staff in the past week, including the return of Lonnie Galloway and Tony Gibson along with the addition of Brian Mitchell, who was the former defensive coordinator at East Carolina.

WVUPros in the NFL Regular Season Recap

2013-01-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

The NFL regular season ended this past Sunday night. Adam Pacman Jones, Bruce Irvin, Don Barclay and Pat McAfee will represent WVU in the NFL Playoffs.

Over the next few weeks, we will have recaps of all of the Mountaineers who were in or around the NFL this season and where they stand as far as free-agency is concerned. We will have interviews with several of them. Here in encapsulated form are the stats for the different WVUPros in the NFL.

Bruce Irvin

Irvin led the NFL in sacks among rookies with eight. He also finished 29^th in the NFL in that category. He finished with 17 tackles (10 solo) and had one forced fumble.

Adam Pacman Jones

Jones had a bit of a revival in Cincinnati this past season. He finished with 40 tackles (33 solo), had one forced fumble and one sack. That was his most tackles since 2006 when he was with the Titans. He had 26 punt returns for 301 yards and a TD. That was good enough to place him 12^th in the NFL in that category. He also returned three kickoffs for 64 yards.

Darius Reynaud

Reynaud found career resurgence with the Tennessee Titans. He was the Titans primary kick returner and also found success returning punts. He returned 53 kicks for 1,240 yards (2^nd in the NFL) and one 105-yard TD. He finished 5^th in the NFL in punt return yards with 410. He returned two punts for touchdowns during Week 17 for the Titans, resulting in him being named as the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

He also pitched in five receptions for 35 yards and 16 rushes for 33.

Will Johnson

Johnson came out of nowhere and started all 16 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He led all NFL rookie fullbacks with 35 receptions for 137 yards and one TD. He had two rushes for seven yards.

Ryan Mundy

Mundy recorded a career-high in tackles with 39 (31 solo). He had one fumble recovery and one 33-yard reception on a fake punt against the Titans. He played in all sixteen games.

Corey McIntyre

The eighth year player was the Bills special teams’ captain this past season where he recorded six tackles. He had one catch for nine yards as a fullback.

Ellis Lankster

Lankster had a career-high 39 tackles with the Jets this past season. He had two interceptions, one sack, broke up six passes and had one fumble recovery in 15 games played. He did not play in the last game of the season with a concussion suffered the week before.

J.T. Thomas

Thomas played in all sixteen games for the Bears this past season after being on Injured Reserve the year before. He was a special teams’ specialist, recording five tackles and forcing two fumbles.

Pat McAfee

McAfee was fourth in the NFL in punting with a 48.2 average on 73 punts during the season. He had a career high of punts landing inside the 20-yard line with 26. He also had four tackles.

Keith Tandy

Tandy played in nine games during his rookie season for Tampa Bay. He played mostly on special teams, recording three tackles.

Najee Goode

Goode was active for three games this season for Tampa Bay. Bucs head coach, Greg Schiano, said during a press conference toward the end of the season that although Goode and Tandy did not play much during their rookie seasons, they made great progress during practices.

Don Barclay

Barclay started the last four games of the regular season for the Packers at RT. The Packers loved to run the ball to his side of the line. He was suspect in pass-blocking, but the team is very high on him for the future.

Selvish Capers

Capers spent most of the season with the New York Giants on their practice squad. During the second half of the season, he was involved in different roster shuffles when injuries occurred, alternately getting cut and signed to the active roster. But, he finished the season on the active roster for three games.

Owen Schmitt

Before Schmitt’s release by the Raiders, he had two carries for one yard. He also had one tackle.

Special Announcement Concerning WVUPros

2011-11-25T07:03:00.000-05:00

This blog has a new home: www.wvupros.com and has undergone a major redesign.
We dropped the "blogspot" from the URL, and created a webpage that will enable us to bring you more, streamlined content than was possible here.
I hope you will click the link above and visit our new page, and as always...

Let's Go Mountaineers!!!

Bob Huggins Speaks: Quotes Following the Morehead St. Game

2011-11-23T10:14:00.001-05:00

This is the second installment of Bob Huggins speaks. This is a new feature that I'm going to do after every basketball game where I choose selected quotes from Bob Huggins. Huggins is not afraid to speak his mind with the media, and sometimes his comments are so honest that the make you laugh.
Last night, WVU defeated Morehead St. 48-83 at the Civic Center in Charleston, WV where the game was essentially over 8 minutes into the 1st half. The Mountaineers game out hot, starting the game with a 20-4 run. Kevin Jones had 23 points, Truck Bryant had 14, and Deniz Kilicli and Gary Browne both pitched in with 10 points apiece. The Mountaineers led by as many as 37 in the 2nd half.

"This is a good game for us," Truck Bryant said after the game. "We've been getting better every day. It's just a great feeling to see that we're starting to gel as a team, and everybody is starting to know what their roles are."

The defense is improving, forcing 23 Morehead St. turnovers. Huggins used the game to figure out where and when to play some of his new 8 freshmen. He talked about that and here is what else he had to say about the game:

“Our rotations were better. They recognized what we were trying to do and we were much better against pressure,” Huggins said. "We have practiced it. We probably went with just doing the dummy stuff to get them to understand where to go to where it is becoming second nature to them. We break it all down and then we put it all back together when we go five on five. I think we spent 25-30 minutes on it today."

On the announced 10,122 in attendance at the Civic Center compared to games at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown:

“I’m the one who said we need to play a couple of games here,” Huggins said. “And I’m not sure maybe we should play here more.”

"I like playing here," Huggins said. "I like being able to play in this part of the state, down here where people can see us."

On missing 12 free throws in the 1st half:

"I just didn't think our concentration was very good. We don't have anyone shooting in practice less than 73 percent. I can make them play hard, but I can't make them make free throws."

“I mean, Gary Brown is shooting in the high 80s in practice," Huggins continued. "It’s just, you know, it’s kind of like getting the measles. It just spreads. Some guy goes up there and clanks one, and the next guy gets up there and all of a sudden it’s in the back of your mind.”

On the freshmen starting to learn the offense and defense:

"We took better care of the ball. Our spacing was so much better,'' Huggins said. "We weren't standing on top of each other. We looked up the floor better. We're still not very good at it, but we're getting better. We're guarding the ball a little bit better. Our understanding is better. We still give too much penetration. But when you get extended like that, you're going to give penetration.''

The Mountaineers have six days off in preparation for a game against Akron at the Coliseum on Monday night. That will be the first in a difficult set of non-conference games including Mississippi St., Kansas St. (future conference opponent in the Big 12), and Miami.

Pat McAfee Establishes Scholarship Fund for Military Families

2011-11-22T12:30:00.000-05:00

ANDY LYONS/GETTY IMAGES

This story has been moved to my new, improved site. Click the link below to read it, and thanks for visting!
Pat McAfee Establishes Scholarship Fund for Military Families

NFL Week 11 Recap- Adam Jones Has a Surprise Start

2011-11-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

Before Week 10's slate of Sunday games, 5 different former Mountaineers were left inactive by their NFL teams. Before Week 11 games, that number fell to four inactive. The tne inactive from last week to this week was the Bengals' Adam Pacman Jones. In fact, not only was Jones active for only the second time this season, the Bengals named him the starting corner before the game. How would he perform? I'll tell you below.
There was some speculation that Brandon Hogan would make his first appearance for the Panthers against the Lions on Sunday. However, he suffered a setback in practice last week with some soreness and swelling in his surgically repaired knee and was left out of the lineup. Hogan has practiced with the Panthers' first-team defense, and returns to game shape and the knee is fine, then he could see significant action for the Panthers sooner rather than later.
Chris Neild did something against the Cowboys that he had not done since Week 1. Pat McAfee continues to prove that he is one of the best players on the Colts' roster. I'll explain all of this, and more, in the Week 11 rundown below.
Philadelphia Eagles 17
New York Giants 10
The Eagles pulled off what can only be an upset win without the services of Mike Vick against the Giants. Owen Schmitt didn't have any carries or receptions in the game.
Buffalo Bills 8
Miami Dolphins 35
The suddenly hot Dolphins now have 3 victories on the season, all coming in the last three weeks. The Bills, after a hot start to the season, are fading fast. They were perched atop the AFC East after Week 7. Now, they are sliding, and FB Corey McIntyre tries to make sense of the situation.

"Everything went wrong," said McIntyre. "I'm just trying to figure out what the problem is. We are just killing ourselves, and keep putting ourselves in bad situations.

"We are making way too many mistakes and getting behind too early."

"Hey, you have to give it up to (the Dolphins), they made big plays, and they were the better team today," McIntyre said. "We have to eliminate the mistakes, and we have to make plays — we are not making plays like we did earlier in the season. We just have to start faster, stay together and keep moving forward. We still have time to make a run."

McIntyre received a personal foul penalty on a special teams play during the second quarter, and although it did not lead to any Dolphins' points, he wasn't letting himself off that easily.

"It was a bonehead play by me," he said. "I am a passionate player and sometimes it gets the best of me. I don't let anyone take advantage of me, but I have to think more of the team out there, than myself."

Dallas Cowboys 27
Washington Redskins 24 OT
The Redskins are in the midst of a 6 game losing streak after losing in OT to the Cowboys. Chris Neild recorded half a sack in the game- the first sack he has recorded since getting two in Week 1 against the Giants.
Cincinnati Bengals 24
Baltimore Ravens 32
After Adam Jones was named the starter at corner before the game, he went in his first full game of action since playing the Atlanta Falcons last season and led the Bengals in tackles. Jones had 7 tackles in the game. One of those tackles (pictured above) occurred when Jones tackled Torrey Smith by the hair.

Also inactive in Week 11 action was Ellis Lankster, Robert Sands, Anthony Becht, and Steve Slaton.

Da'Sean Butler Signs Overseas

2011-11-21T15:35:00.001-05:00

Facing the increasing likelihood that there will be no NBA this season, more players are starting to sign Pro contracts overseas.
West Virginia Illustrated's Chip Fontanzza reports that Da'Sean Butler signed a two-week tryout contract with VEF Riga in Latvia and will join the team on Wednesday. He could play in his first game as early as Friday. If Butler does play, it will be his first game minutes as a Pro.
"I have no words for it," Butler said Monday. "It's so new to me now, so I'm just looking forward to going over there and having the opportunity to just see where I'm at and go from there."
Butler signed with the San Antonio Spurs shortly after doctors cleared him to play after blowing out his knee WR the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis against Duke. They immediately sent him to play with their NBDL affiliate, the Austin Toros. Butler never got into a game for the Toros, but did receive valuable practice time with the team to learn the Spurs offensive and defensive sets.
Butler's contract is initially at tryout contact so the team can gauge how healthy his knee is. His agent, Chet Ervin, says that the knee is fully healed. If the team does determine that Butler is healthy enough to contribute, then he will be signed for the remainder of the season.
If the NBA players and owners work out their differences, and the Lockout ends, then Butler will be allowed to rejoin the Spurs.
Another former Mountaineer, Joe Alexander also plays in the same league. If the two sides in the NBA dispute do not reconcile their differences, Alexander and Butler's teams would face each other on Feb.11. It wouldn't be the first time that a game away from WVU had the potential of Butler and Alexander facing each other. When Joe Alexander starred for the Texas Legends last season, his team faced Da'Sean Butler's Toros squad at the end of the regular season. Bob Huggins flew to Texas to attend that game.
Devin Ebanks is the other prominent, former Mountaineer that is faced with the prospect of not playing organized basketball this season. The Lakers wanted for Ebanks to work on his shooting and ballhandling in the offseason because they want to use him at shooting guard. The team thinks they can uses Ebanks' size and speed to create matchup problems. He has chosen to not go overseas and remain in the U.S. to continue working on his game.

Source: Former WVU Star Da'Sean Butler Signs Deal Overseas - WVU Mountaineer Sports: Basketball | Football | News |

Avon Cobourne's Season Comes to an End

2011-11-21T09:24:00.003-05:00

Winnipeg's defense stymied a Hamilton Tiger-cats offense that scored 52 points last week in the first round of the CFL Playoffs. The Avon Cobourne led Ticats offense was held to 3 points Eastern Division Final by the stingy Blue Bombers defense.
Cobourne was held to 28 yards on nine carries as the Ticats had to abandon the passing game early. But stopping Cobourne was one of Winnipeg's keys to victory.

“That was one of our keys,” said Winnipeg safety Ian Logan. “Avon is a tough runner and once he gets going, it’s tough to stop him."

Cobourne finished the season with 961 yards rushing with 8 touchdowns to go along with 459 yards receiving.

A quick WVUPros NFL Wk 11 Update- Adam Jones to Start for Bengals

2011-11-20T12:30:00.001-05:00

After being inactive for the last two weeks, the Bengals announced that not only will Adam Jones play against the Ravens, he will get the start at corner. It will be only the second time this season he sees action after spending the first eight weeks on the PUP list.
The Bengals also announced that rookie Robert Sands is inactive.
Other former Mountaineers that were ruled inactive at the time of this writing include Brandon Hogan of the Panthers. There was speculation that he might play for the first time this season, but experienced some swelling in his surgically repaired knee this week.
Steve Slaton is also inactive for the Dolphins.

Brandon Hogan Has Swelling In His Knee- Questionable For Sunday

2011-11-18T15:20:00.001-05:00

Brandon Hogan was added to the Panthers active roster last week after spending the first half of the season on the PUP list. He was inactive in the Panthers' loss to the Titans last Sunday. Head coach Ron Rivera wanted to hold Hogan out until he felt he was in 'game shape.'
The Panthers Hogan's help at corner which is one of the biggest weaknesses the team faces on defense. The Panthers would also like to try Hogan out as a kick returner.
The team faces Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions on Sunday, and there's a question of who will cover Johnson. The job will come down to one or both of the team's starting corners: Captain Munnerlyn or Chris Gamble. The team would like to have Hogan active so he could lend some much needed support in covering Johnson.
Hogan practiced yesterday with the team, but his surgically repaired knee was swollen when he came to practice today.

"He (Hogan) did actually practice this afternoon though, so it may not be as bad as they initially thought," said Ron Rivera.

Rivera said that he'll make the decision tomorrow on whether to activate Hogan against the Lions:

"The concern is how he reacts tomorrow. Anytime you have practice on turf like we did the last two days because of the weather, that's always going to rough for someone coming off knee surgery. That's the residual of practicing on it two days. He got sore last night and came in this morning sore and with some fluid and tightness, so we wanted to be careful with him. He actually responded pretty good to treatment and practice. He was going to get some opportunities. We'll see. He came out of this afternoon a little better than I originally thought."

I'll let you know Sunday on Twitter (@WVUPros) whether or not Hogan will play as well as all the other Mountaineers in the NFL.

Bob Huggins Speaks: Quotes From the Alcorn St. Game

2011-11-18T10:02:00.001-05:00

I love the head coaches for the Mountaineers' football and basketball teams. Among the many things that I like about them is that they are always good for a quote. Dana Holgorsen is always frank, sometimes brutally, with the media, and Bob Huggins is not afraid to speak his mind either.
Since Huggins is a WVU Pro, I thought I would start a new feature on this site and call it "Bob Huggins Speaks" that will come after games and important news conferences. I think he's entertaining and sheds light on how the team is playing sometimes in ways that we wouldn't think.
The men's basketball team had a big 97-62 victory against Alcorn St. yesterday coming off a Tuesday morning loss to Kent St. Kevin Jones set the All-time Mountaineer record for offensive rebounds early in the game, and ended with a career high 29 points to go along with 10 offensive rebounds (13 total).

"I've got to give a lot of the credit to my teammates for missing all those shots," Jones said after the game.

Truck Bryant had a big 2nd half and was able to get to the basket. He finished with 18 points. Redshirt freshman Kevin Noreen came off the bench and scored 12. Deniz Kilicli and Jabarie Hinds had 10 a piece.
An instant fan favorite in the form of walk-on freshman Paul Williamson came off the bench and had 7 points hitting a pair of 3-pointers.

"Can we be honest?" Bob Huggins said. "Who looked at the schedule and didn't think we'd win this one?"

More Bob Huggins quotes after the jump.
From MSNSportsnet:

“You can always get something out of this and I thought we played hard tonight. We didn’t run offense in the first half; I think five of our first seven shots were 3s and we don’t need that."

“I think we’ve got to shoot 3s but we don’t have to shoot five of our first seven from 3, particularly when you’ve got an opponent who is out-manned inside with Deniz and KJ’s ability to score the ball in close."

“Truck was terrific today. He played within himself, didn’t force things and he gets 18 points because he didn’t force things.”

Huggins on turnovers:

“You can’t continue to go down the path we were going down – you can continue to throw the ball around the way we are throwing the ball around. I think this is the first time this year we had more assists than we did turnovers.”

From WVMetroNews:

“He’s (Jones) had a hall of fame career. When it’s all said and done, he’s had a hall of fame career. You look at guys that are in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding and those are hall of fame guys. He’s worked so hard and he’s such a wonderful guy. You can’t imagine what a good guy he is and how he is to deal with everyday.”

Charleston Daily Mail:

"The best thing he (Jones) does is he listens," said Huggins, who tells his players to be on the opposite side of the ball. "He's done an unbelievable job with his body - he was 215 pounds when he came in here. And he's been blessed with a wonderful pair of hands. Some guys look like seals batting balls around. If it's close, he gets it."

The Mountaineers' next game will be on Tuesday night at the Charleston Civic Center against Morehead St.

WVU Pros NFL Week 11 Preview: Ellis Lankster Gets It Started on Thursday Night

2011-11-17T16:10:00.001-05:00

Ellis Lankster- (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Usually, this column runs on Fridays and if I have time, I update it on Sundays before the NFL games begin. However, Ellis Lankster and the New York Jets sneaked up on me with a Thursday night game against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos tonight. So, I'm a day early.
Week 11 of the NFL is ahead of us this weekend, and there are some intriguing match-ups. At the beginning of the season, the Eagles playing at the Giants could have been a big inter-division game, but with the Eagles a mess with a 3-6 record, it falls short of what it could have been. That doesn't mean it's not going to be a good game to watch. Usually, Eagles/Giants games are hard fought and close games. Owen Schmitt will tell you below what is wrong with team and why the Eagles haven't given up hope on reaching the Playoffs.
Before last weekend's games, five former Mountaineers were ruled 'inactive' for that weekend's games. The list included Brandon Hogan, Steve Slaton, Anthony Becht, Robert Sands, and Adam Pacman Jones. I'll tell you why I believe at least two of those players will be active for this week's slate of games.
The schedule and breakdown of Mountaineers in action this week is after the jump.

New York Jets @
Denver Broncos
8:20 NFL Network
Ellis Lankster provides support in the Jets secondary. He was a mid-season acquisition for the Jets after they cut him at the end of the Preseason. So far, he has contributed 4 tackles on the season.

Carolina Panthers @
Detroit Lions
1:00 FOX
After adding Brandon Hogan to the active roster from the PUP list last week, Panthers' head coach Ron Rivera held Hogan out of Sunday's loss to the Titans. The Panthers are going to use the remaining games in this season to evaluate the roster to prepare for next year. The coaching staff are going to use players in different ways over the last seven games this season, and as soon as Hogan is in game-shape, he could see the field in several different ways for the Panthers. One of the weakest positions so far this season for the team is at cornerback, and the team has been anxious to see how Hogan can contribute. They feel that if he comes back completely healthy from a torn ACL suffered last December, he could be one of the steals from this year's draft. On defense, they could also plug him as a nickel safety. They also want to see how he does returning kicks. The Panthers face Matthew Stafford and the Lions this weekend, and you can bet that they are licking their chops at the prospect of having either Captain Munnerlyn and Chris Gamble lining up across from Calvin Johnson. If Hogan has showed he is in better shape in practice this week, there is a good chance he'll be activated to help defend against Johnson.

Buffalo Bills @
Miami Dolphins
1:00 CBS
These are two teams going in opposite directions. At the beginning of this season, the Bills were one of the surprise teams in the league, now they are fading. The Dolphins lost their first seven games to start the season, but have won two in a row with journeyman quarterback Matt Moore at the helm. Steve Slaton was inactive last week for the Dolphins, and that's likely to occur again this week.
Corey McIntyre is 5th in AFC special teams votes in Pro-Bowl balloting for the Bills. McIntyre did his part in giving back to the western New York community this week by donating $1,250 dollars to the 6th Annual Rock Out Hunger campaign. He said he would match up to $3,800 in addition to that.

Dallas Cowboys @
Washington Redskins
1:00 FOX
Chris Neild recorded 1 tackle last week while playing in 18 snaps. Coaches want to increase his playing time in the latter half of this season to get him game experience while building towards the future.

Cincinnati Bengals @
Baltimore Ravens
1:00 CBS
Adam Jones was a late scratch to last week's game due to a groin injury he suffered in practice. He's healthy now, and should play against the Ravens. Rookie Robert Sands has been a healthy 'inactive' in every game this season, and with the Bengals having one of the best records in the league, that trend should continue. Although he has been inactive, Sands has been able to practice fully with the team while he learns the NFL game.

Philadelphia Eagles @
New York Giants
8:20 NBC
As I mentioned above, the Eagles are reeling, but they haven't given up on their hopes of reaching the Playoffs. FB Owen Schmitt still believes that can happen:

“I still believe we’re one of the most talented teams,” Schmitt said. “We can’t fire on all cylinders. It’s like we’re stuck in third gear. It’s frustrating. I wish I had an answer. I wish we all had an answer. Everybody is frustrated. But I thought we tried just as hard. It’s not like we’re giving up. It’s not over until it’s over. We can make the playoffs but we’ve still got to play our bleep off.”

Kansas City Chiefs @
New England Patriots
8:30 ESPN MNF
Anthony Becht was inactive for the Chiefs last weekend and that could be the case this week against the Patriots.

John Flowers Comes Up Big In OT Win for the Saitama Broncos

2011-11-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

Former Mountaineer John Flowers had another big game for the Saitama Broncos in the Japanese BJ League. The rookie forward had 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks for the Broncos in an overtime victory against the Kosai Phoenix.
Flowers hit on 5 three-pointers in the game. The Broncos record now stands at 4-6 on the season.
Flowers also had 26 points in a game last week against Ryukyu prompting Broncos head coach Dean Murray to offer up praise for Flowers that might even make Bob Huggins smile:

"First of all, John is the best leader we have on our team," Murray said. "He always comes to play hard every day, and it carries over. He has a great work ethic by himself. Even this week, he got hurt in practice on Tuesday and didn't practice for a few days."

Video of Devin Ebanks Talking About the NBA Lockout

2011-11-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

The Los Angeles Times caught up with former Mountaineer and current L.A. Laker, Devin Ebanks to ask him about the NBA Lockout and what he has been doing in the offseason.

Hopefully, the Lockout will end and we will be able to see Devin Ebanks and DaSean Butler in action this season. As it looks at the time of this writing, that may not happen.
After meetings on Monday, the players union formally disbanded.

NFL Week 10 Recap

2011-11-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

Chris Neild (#95) tries to tackle Dolphin Reggie Bush
(AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

An hour before the bulk of the NFL games were supposed to start, teams released their injury reports and inactives for the 1:00 pm games. When that list came out, several former Mountaineers were included.
A week after being added to the active roster from the PUP list, Brandon Hogan was inactive for the Panthers. Head coach Ron Rivera wants Hogan to have more practice time in order to get into game shape. Also inactive for this past week's games were: Steve Slaton, Adam Jones, Robert Sands, and Anthony Becht.
That does not mean, however, that there is nothing to report this week.
After getting off to a hot start, Chris Neild and the Washington Redskins were in danger of losing their fifth straight game against the 1-win Miami Dolphins. Also proving to be equally inept at winning games, Owen Schmitt and the Philadelphia Eagles had a winnable home game against a Kevin Kolb-less Arizona Cardinals team.
Former Mountaineers in the NFL took a hit on Monday as the Steelers released Mortty Ivy.
I'll tell you what happened in those games and more after the jump.

Arizona Cardinals 21
Philadelphia Eagles 17
This game was supposed to mark the return of Kevin Kolb back to Philadelphia as he made his first start against his former team, but was ruled out because of injury. So the Eagles thought they might have an easier game against a 2-6 team with no road victories this season. Right? That was not meant to be. The mood was set early when the Eagles announced that DeSean Jackson would not play because he overslept and missed a team meeting. Cardinals backup quarterback John Skelton outplayed Mike Vick by throwing 3 TD passes (2 to Larry Fitzgerald). What was supposed to be the "Dream Team" going into this season, the Eagles now are on the outside looking in in the Playoff chase. Owen Schmitt had 1 reception for 8 yards.

Pittsburgh Steelers 24
Cincinnati Bengals 17
There was the potential for four different Mountaineers to be on the field during this game, but with the Bengals announcing that Sands and Jones would be inactive, and Mortty Ivy not seeing the field, that left Ryan Mundy as the lone Mountaineer contributor in this game. Mundy had a key special teams play for the Steelers by downing a punt inside the Bengals 5-yard line. Bengals CB Leon Hall suffered an Achilles injury in the game, which may lead to Jones being activated in the coming weeks.

Buffalo Bills 7
Dallas Cowboys 44
The Bills were another team, like the Redskins, that got off to a hot start this season. Now they are fading after getting demolished by the Cowboys. Bills FB Corey McIntyre is not going to let the loss get him or the team down:

"How do you rebound from a game like this? You go out and take it out on the next team and make plays," McIntyre said. "That’s how you rebound."

Jacksonville Jaguars 17
Indianapolis Colts 3
Pat McAfee had 6 punts for a 41 yard average.

Washington Redskins 9
Miami Dolphins 20
Steve Slaton was ruled 'inactive' for the 2nd straight week for the Dolphins who won their second game this season and sent a reeling Redskins team to their 5th straight loss. Chris Neild should see more playing time as this season progresses on the Skins D-line with coaches and management taking an eye towards next season. Neild recorded 1 tackle in the game while playing on 18 snaps.

New England Patriots 37
New York Jets 16
The Jets were pummeled at home by a suddenly sharp Patriots team on Sunday Night Football. Ellis Lankster did not show up on the stat sheet or in any of the game notes.

Avon Cobourne Gets His Revenge- Helps Ticats Defeat Old Team in CFL Playoffs

2011-11-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

Tiger-Cats running back Avon Cobourne hurdles over Montreal Alouette Bear Woods
Photograph by: John Mahoney, Postmedia News, Postmedia News

Avon Cobourne had a bad break-up with the Montreal Alouettes at the end of last season, and signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The outspoken Cobourne did not mince words when he left Montreal, but was quiet in the week leading up to Sunday afternoon's Playoff matchup against his old team. In his last two seasons with Montreal, Cobourne helped lead the team to two consecutive Grey Cups. Now he is on a quest to lead a different team to the same goal.
Cobourne helped to lead the Tiger-Cats in an overtime victory over the Alouettes in a thrilling 52-44 OT victory in front of over 33,000 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Cobourne finished with 97 yards rushing and scored a go-ahead 4th quarter 46-yard touchdown. He also had 48 receiving yards on 5 catches.

The game featured a wild 4th quarter with the two teams scoring a combined 38 points in the final 15 minutes.
After the game, Cobourne had the opportunity, but did not rub it in against his old team.

Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

"I'm just happy that I'm with this team," Cobourne told the Hamilton Spectator. "I expected to win this game and it feels no different.

"There's still a lot of work to do, but it was a big win so we can be excited about it."

After beating Montreal in the highest-scoring game in CFL Playoff history, Cobourne and the Tiger-Cats will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Eastern Division final. The Ticats will be a decided underdog in the game.
The Blue Bombers swept the season series 3-0. The two teams will play on Sunday 11/20 at 1:00 pm.

Mortty Ivy Released by the Steelers

2011-11-14T15:56:00.001-05:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they released former Mountaineer Mortty Ivy today. Ivy had been part of the active roster for the last several weeks after being called up from the practice squad.
Ivy was added to the active roster after sever Steelers' linebackers were hit with injuries. This was shortly after he was re-signed to the practice squad for the second time this season. The move was made after the Steelers signed Al Woods.
The last time the Steelers released Ivy, it was hinted that he wouldn't be off the team for long, and that was the care. This time, however, Ivy makes this move sound more final after posting this message on his Facebook page:

"I gotta stay strong one of these days it will be my turn and I'll be just ok."

Stay tuned to WVU Pros for the Ivy's next move.

Garin Justice Leads Concord to WVIAC Championship

2011-11-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Concord Head Coach Garin Justice
Daily Telegraph file photo

Three-year Mountaineer starter, Garin Justice, led the Concord Mountain Lions to the WVIAC Championship in his first season as head coach. Justice had been on Concord's staff since 2009, but was promoted to head coach in January of this year.
In a high-scoring, offensive shootout against West Virginia Wesleyan, the Mountain Lions prevailed 48-40 over the Cougars on Saturday. The Mountain Lions edged WVWC in total offense 513-481, but the Cougars were held to 35 yards rushing by the Mountain Lions defense.
The win marks a tremendous turnaround for the program after going winless in 2008. Justice, a former Second-Team All-American, is one of the big reasons behind the turnaround. He brought in a similar spread-offense to what he learned under Rich Rodriguez when he joined the Concord staff in 2009 as the Offensive Line Coach and Conditioning Coordinator, and the change to the offense was immediate. The team went from scoring 11.3 points per game in 2008 to 33.2 in 2009. Rushing yards per game were nearly tripled. The Mountain Lions gained 227.0 yards rushing per game in 2009, up from 79.8 in 2008.
Justice's coaching pedigree is rich. Starting with being GA under Rich Rodriguez in 2006. He then spent the next two seasons under Bobby Bowden also as a GA before joining the Concord staff.

WVU Pros NFL Week 10 Preview- Brandon Hogan Makes His NFL Debut

2011-11-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Brandon Hogan was activated by the Panthers on Tuesday, two days before their deadline to decide on whether or not to activate him for the season. Hogan spent the first half of the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list for the team while continuing to recover from a torn ACL he suffered last December. I'll tell you below if he will play on Sunday, and if he does, how he will contribute for the Panthers.
Adam Pacman Jones missed the Bengals game against the Tennessee Titans last week, and game he badly wanted to play in, due to a pulled hamstring suffered against the Seahawks. What does he say about playing this week?
This week features two games where former Mountaineers could wind up playing each other. I'll explain the "could" part below.
Last week marked the last week that teams received bye weeks. From now until Week 17, all teams will be in action. I'll give you the NFL Week 10 schedule involving former Mountaineers after the jump, along with what to expect from those players in their games.
Tennessee Titans @
Carolina Panthers
1:00 pm CBS
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera intimated that Brandon Hogan would likely be "inactive" this week against the Titans. Rivera explained that Hogan is still trying to get into game shape after not practicing in nearly a year. In practices, Hogan has lined up with the 1st-team defense at CB replacing Captain Munnerlyn. If he plays, he could also return kicks and punts to help the Panthers that rank near the bottom of the League in returns.

Arizona Cardinals @
Philadelphia Eagles
1:00 pm FOX
The 'Dream Team' of the Eagles limp into Week 10 with a 3-5 record after losing to the Bears on Monday Night Football. Owen Schmitt has seen a diminished role this season at FB. He is a key special teams contributor.

Cincinnati Bengals @
Pittsburgh Steelers
1:00 pm CBS
This key inter-divisional matchup includes several former Mountaineers. Adam Jones promised on Twitter that he would be healthy for this game after missing last week's game against the Titans, the team that originally drafted Jones. Jones will likely support the secondary and return kicks. When he injured his hamstring against the Seahawks, he did it in the midst of a Bengals season-long punt return of 63-yards. A return of that caliber in this game could be a game-changer. Rookie Robert Sands has been a healthy inactive all season for the Bengals. That should remain the case in this game.
For the Steelers, Ryan Mundy has been a key contributor on defense as injuries have thinned the linebacking depth. Mortty Ivy is also on the roster.

Buffalo Bills @
Dallas Cowboys
1:00 pm CBS
Corey McIntyre has seen his time on the field diminish at fullback this season as the Bills have begun to use more and more 3- and 4- wide receiver sets.

Jacksonville Jaguars @
Indianapolis Colts
1:00 pm CBS
This could be one of the Colts best chances to find a victory in the remainder of this season. So far, they are win-less with the absence of Peyton Manning and the offense has struggled mightily. Last week, Pat McAfee broke a Colts' record for total punting yardage in a game with 451. He is also the teams' emergency quarterback and the leading tackler in the NFL for kickers.

Denver Broncos @
Kansas City Chiefs
1:00 pm CBS
Anthony Becht is the Chiefs 3rd sting tight end, and he is mainly used for his blocking.

Washington Redskins @
Miami Dolphins
1:00 pm CBS
In a potential match-up between two former Mountaineers, the Dolphins look for their 2nd win of the season against a struggling Redskins team. Chris Neild continues to see his playing time increase for the Redskins in his rookie season on their defensive line. With the Redskins Playoffs hopes looking bleak, look for that trend to continue in the second half of the season.
Steve Slaton for the Dolphins was inactive last week in their win against the Chiefs. That could happen again this week if both Reggie Bush and starter Daniel Thomas are healthy.

New England Patriots @
New York Jets
8:20 NBC
Ellis Lankster will be going into his third game since being re-signed by the Jets. Last week, he was chosen as one of the team's captains before the game. He helps to provide depth in the Jets secondary. So far, he has 4 tackles in the last two weeks.

Avon Cobourne Seeks Redemption Against His Old Team in the CFL Playoffs

2011-11-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Photograph by: Mike Cassese, Reuters, Postmedia News

For years, Avon Cobourne played for the Montreal Alouettes helping to lead the team to two Grey Cup titles along the way. The now 32-year-old is WVU's all-time leading rusher, and has been one of the best running backs in the CFL over the past several years.
During this last CFL offseason, Cobourne found himself as a free-agent, but wished to remain in Montreal after having a baby and buying a house. The Alouettes had different ideas and offered Cobourne a contract that he would not accept. The Alouettes also went out and signed former Green Bay Packer running back Ahman Green in the midst of this.
Cobourne took the hint and quickly signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. His departure from Montreal was not amicable. Cobourne was offended by the Alouettes offer, and them subsequently trying to sign his replacement. Ahman Green did not make it out of the CFL Preseason with Montreal.

Cobourne is known for his trash-talking, and when he left Montreal, he did not mince words.

“Obviously, when somebody doesn’t want you, you feel like you have something to prove.”

Now the CFL regular season is over, and Cobourne continued to play at a high level for the Tiger-Cats. He finished 4th in the league in rushing with 961 yards, 3rd in yards from scrimmage with 1,420, and tied for 5th in touchdowns with 8. When Cobourne rushed more than 10 times in a game, the Tiger-Cats were 8-3. When he failed to reach 10 carries, the team had an 0-6 record.
This Saturday, Cobourne and the Tiger-Cats play the Alouettes in the East-division semi-finals. Cobourne has a chance to show his old team that they were wrong in letting him go, and he wants the ball in his hands.

“I’m hoping we do get the run going — and it’s not just me it’s the o-line and the coaches calling the plays — because, if that happens, we have a better chance to win the game,” Cobourne said.

“I did want to play them first because they’re a veteran team and they would be better coming out of a bye,” Cobourne said, noting his new team has two wins over his old one this season. “We have the blueprint, we’ve done it twice and they’ve been beat the last couple games. If we emulate what we’ve done before, we can win.”

And if that win comes, it will surely be sweet redemption for Cobourne.

Jedd Gyorko Earns Another Honor In the Padres' Minor-League System

2011-11-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

(Photo by Jamie Scott Lytle - jlytle@californian.com

Former Mountaineer INF Jedd Gyorko's first full season in the San Diego Padres farm system after getting drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 MLB Draft, was marked with many awards and even a promotion. Now he earned another honor after being named the MadFriars' Player of the Year.

Gyorko lit up opposing pitchers in his time with the Lake Elsinore Storm in the California League batting .365/.429/.638. He was then promoted to the Padres' AA ball-club in San Antonio. After a slower start with the Missions, Gyorko finished batting .300/.379/.464 in August.

Of all of the players in the Padres' farm system, Gyorko had the most consistent numbers over the course of the season. Right now, he is playing in the Arizona Fall League where he made the All-Star team. leads the AFL in hitting right now at .431 with 5 homers.

The Padres have two relatively young players at 3rd base and at shortstop in James Darnell and Chase Headley, Gyorko may have to change positions in order to move up to the major league roster for the Padres.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing defense and really will play wherever the Padres want me too, third, second or short,” Gyorko said on a possible position change. “I just love to play the game and anywhere they put me is great.

“I’m just trying to do what everyone is doing out here, get better and become a more complete player.”

Gyroko finished his minor-league campaign with 25 homers and 114 RBIs helping both teams to league Championships.

Brandon Hogan To Be Activated by the Panthers

2011-11-08T15:06:00.002-05:00

Charlotte Observer reporter Joseph Person reported via Twitter that it looks like Brandon Hogan will be activated for the remainder of the regular season. The team released DT Ron Edwards to make room on the roster for Hogan. The GM of the Panthers, Marty Hurney, alluded to Hogan's activation this morning on a local Charlotte sports station.
Hogan was on the Panthers' Physically Unable to Perform list for the first eight weeks of the regular season while still rehabbing a torn ACL he suffered last December. Hogan was the Panthers' 1st pick in the 4th Round of this past NFL Draft. They drafted him on his potential after having the ACL injury and several well-documented behavioral issues.
Hogan was cleared to practice several weeks ago, and after getting into the flow, it was reported that he was taking reps with the first-team defense at CB and returning kicks in practice. The Panthers rank 32nd in the league in total defense and near the bottom in kick returns. With a 2-6 record and a lack of depth at corner, the Panthers activated Hogan to see how he will bounce back from the knee injury.
The team plays the Tennessee Titans at home this Sunday 11/13 at 1:00 p.m.

WVU Pros NFL Week 9 Recap

2011-11-08T11:49:00.000-05:00

Chris Neild- Washington Redskins

This past weekend of NFL football signaled the start of the 2nd half of the season. By now, we know who looks like they are going to contend for a Super Bowl berth, and others that are already looking towards next season.

The Green Bay Packers look like the strongest team in the league so far, and want to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers is having a season that few other signal callers have ever had. The Philadelphia Eagles dubbed themselves the 'Dream Team' before this season began after picking up several Pro-Bowl caliber free-agents before the season began. After losing again last night to the Chicago Bears, Owen Schmitt and the Eagles find themselves in serious jeopardy of missing the Playoffs.

There are some surprise teams out there. In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers have only one loss going into the 2nd half. Former #1 overall pick Alex Smith is starting to live up to some of the promise that he had coming out of Utah. The Cincinnati Bengals are another surprising one-loss team. However, they get into divisional play starting next week at Pittsburgh (another strong Super Bowl contender).

As far as former Mountaineers are concerned, there have been few standout performances. In Week 1, Chris Neild burst onto the scene in his first regular season NFL game with two sacks against Eli Manning the New York Giants. Since then, he has started to settle into a role as a contributor on the the Redskins D-Line, and with the team's slide, he should get more playing time as the season progresses as the Skins build toward the future.

Steve Slaton switched teams after being cut by the Texans. He now plays for the Miami Dolphins where he is still trying to find a role on the team. He has played in two games since joining the team when injuries to starting RB Daniel Thomas forced him to sit out. In the second game Slaton played, he found himself as the running back in goal line situations, coming out with 1 TD in the game, and returning kicks. With Thomas and Reggie Bush also in the Dolphins' backfield, kick returner is where the Dolphins will find the most value in Slaton this season. Slaton was inactive in last weekend's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Two former Mountaineers began the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list for their respective teams. Adam Jones with the Bengals, and Brandon Hogan with the Panthers. Jones came off the PUP list two weeks ago and played against Seattle. He left that game after pulling his hamstring on a 63-yard punt return. He sat out this weekend's game against his original NFL team, the Tennessee Titans. At the time of this writing, Hogan's fate with the Panthers has yet to be decided. The team has until Thursday to decide whether or not to activate him for the season. He has practiced for the the last two weeks with the team, and it has been reported that he received reps with the 1st team Panthers' defense. He tweaked an ankle early last week in practice, but was back out with the team at Monday's practice lining up with the 1st team D.

Here is a recap of this past weekend's games involving former Mountaineers:

N.Y. Jets 27

Buffalo Bills 11

The Jets recently re-signed Ellis Lankster to the roster after cutting him at the end of the Preseason. Lankster was elected as one of the Jets' captains for this game. He finished the game with 1 tackle. Corey McIntyre continues to see a diminished role as the Bills starting FB as the team uses more and more 4 wide receiver sets.

Atlanta Falcons 31

Indianapolis Colts 7

With the Dolphins win this weekend, the Colts are now in the lead for the #1 overall Draft pick in the spring. To demonstrate the Colts futility on offense with Peyton Manning sidelined with a neck injury, Pat McAfee tied a 30-year-old Colts record for most punts in a game with 9. He averaged over 50 yards per punt with a long of 60.

San Francisco 49ers 19

Washington Redskins 11

Chris Neild recorded 1 tackle in the game.

Baltimore Ravens 23

Pittsburgh Steelers 20

Ryan Mundy had 1 tackle in the loss for the Steelers and a pass breakup on a 3rd down play.

Chicago Bears 30

Philadelphia Eagles 24

Owen Schmitt did not break into the stat column on the offensive side of the ball, but did have one special teams tackle. He, like Corey McIntyre, continues to see a diminished role as the Eagles FB.

Casey Mitchell Gets Selected in the NBDL Draft

2011-11-04T14:00:00.000-04:00

Although the NBA regular season is delayed with their Lockout, the NBDL will continue with business as usual. Days after the NBA regular season was supposed to have begun, the NBDL held their annual Draft.
Former Mountaineer, Casey Mitchell was selected by the Sioux Falls Skyforce with the 4th selection in the 3rd round. Mitchell was a transfer for the Mountaineers after he led the nation in scoring at the junior college level. During his time playing for Bob Huggins, Mitchell showed flashes of potential, especially on the offensive end, but stayed in Huggins' dog house for a good part of his 2-year Mountaineer career.
Mitchell played sparingly during his first season in Morgantown, but played 23 minutes a game during his senior season averaging over 14 points a game.
Other former Mountaineers that have played in the NBDL include Joe Alexander, D'or Fischer, Mike Gansey, and Da'Sean Butler. Butler was sent to the Ausin Toros at the end of last season after signing with the San Antonio Spurs to continue to rehabilitate his knee.