December 29, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen reacts to an official

According to a report from WVMetroNews.com, West Virginia Mountaineers freshman quarterback Chavas Rawlins has decided to transfer to another school before playing a single down.

Rawlins, a Monesson, PA native, was West Virginia’s lone quarterback prospect in the 2013 recruiting class. He was also one of the most intriguing prospects due to his strong arm and blazing speed. He elected to enroll early, coming to campus in January for the spring semester.

Rawlins got in early to compete for playing time at quarterback with incumbents Paul Millard and Ford Childress, but failed to overtake either player, not seeing any time in the Gold Blue Game.

With Rawlins unable to pull ahead of Paul Millard and Ford Childress on the depth chart, he was doomed to redshirt this season. Add in the fact that WVU accepted the transfer of former Florida State quarterback Clint Trickett and the current verbal commitment of highly rated dual threat quarterback William Crest (Dunbar High School Baltimore, MD), it looked like Rawlins might become lost in the quarterback depth chart. It would have also been possible that he could have been asked to play some wide receiver to get him on the field.

According to Rawlins high school coach, Andy Pacak, Rawlins decision may be tied to the departure of quarterback coach Jake Spatival.

“All of a sudden Jake wasn’t going to be there, and I think that had an impact,” said Pacak.

Spatival left the Mountaineers program this spring to join Texas A&M and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

With Rawlins position coach now departed, he will reconsider his options for his four years of eligibility. The loss of Rawlins leaves the Mountaineers with three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

October 8, 2011; Morgantown,WV, USA: West Virginia Mountaineers receiver Ivan McCartney (5) runs after a pass reception against Connecticut Huskies safety Byron Jones (16) during the fourth quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. WVU won 43-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

Head coach Dana Holgorsen got some pleasant news this afternoon, learning that former West Virginia Mountaineers receiver Ivan McCartney has decided to return to Morgantown. The move was announced by his high school’s twitter, Miramar High School (home of other Mountaineers greats Geno Smith and Stedman Bailey):

Also of note, Miramar Alum WR Ivan McCartney has found a home for next year. He will be heading back to #WVU for his senior season.

— Miramar Sports (@MiramarSports) May 17, 2013

McCartney appears to be excited about the opportunity to play his senior season for the Mountaineers>

Once a Mountaineer….. Always a Mountaineer!!

— Ivan McCartney (@IMcCartney5) May 17, 2013

McCartney left the Mountaineers team this past season after appearing in five games. In his two plus years on campus, McCartney has started 11 games for WVU, appearing in 32 games. He has 59 receptions for 701 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He will likely be eligible to play this coming season since he did not in-fact transfer from the West Virginia program. If he is eligible to play during the 2013 season, he will bring experience to a rather in-experienced receiving corps.

With his knowledge of the offense executed by Dana Holgorsen, it stands to reason that he will see a decent bit of playing time this coming season, even if he is not a starter.

Aug 30, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin (51) reacts during the game against the Oakland Raiders at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Raiders 21-3. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks are one of the NFL hottest teams. After a strong showing in the NFC playoffs last season, finishing just short of an NFC Championship game appearance, and the off-season acquisition of receiver Percy Harvin from the Minnesota Vikings, many had the Seahawks tabbed as an NFC contender this year.

Now it looks as though the Seahawks will have to find a way to survive the first four games of their 2013 schedule without star second year defensive end Bruce Irvin. As reported by multiple outlets, Irvin has failed a league drug test for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Irvin had this to say about his suspension:

“I want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and Seahawks fans for making a mistake when I took a substance that is prohibited in the NFL without a medical exemption,” Irvin said in a statement. “I am extremely disappointed in the poor judgment I showed and take full responsibility for my actions. I will not appeal the discipline and instead will focus my energy on preparing for the season so I can begin earning your trust and respect again. I look forward to contributing to the team the moment I return.” (per ESPN)

The Irvin suspension comes on the heels of the suspensions for guard John Moffitt, Brandon Browner, and the overturned suspension for outspoken cornerback Richard Sherman.

Irvin’s statement suggests that he took a banned substance that is not a steroid, but more likely a misused prescription such as Adderall (not confirmed), the same substance that allegedly landed suspensions for guard John Moffitt and the overturned suspension of  cornerback Richard Sherman.

Seattle will start the season at the Carolina Panthers on September 8 before coming home for back to back home games against the San Francisco 49ers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Seahawks are then back on the road in week 4 at the Houston Texans.

With Irvin, the team’s second leading sack master (and expected to have a larger role in the defense this season), facing suspension at the start of the season, the Seahawks will be lucky to emerge from the first four games with 2-2 record, especially with match-ups with Super Bowl favorites San Francisco and Houston.

As ESPN’s John Clayton points out:

Bruce Irvin’s four-game suspension makes the signings of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett important at DE

— John Clayton (@ClaytonESPN) May 17, 2013

For Seattle, these moves will go a long way to keeping the Seahawks pass rush in decent shape as they await the return of Bruce Irvin. If nothing else, the break will give former Mountaineer star Bruce Irvin a chance to regrow his iconic dreadlocks.

Loving my haircut! twitter.com/BIrvin_WVU11/s…

— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) May 16, 2013

Irvin is not known to be a dirty player or a player who takes short cuts. His apology appear to be sincere and you can bet that he will make the most of his second chance with the Seahawks starting in week 5 when the Seahawks travel to face the Indianapolis Colts.

May 10, 2013; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith (7) during New York Jets rookie minicamp at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Geno Smith got 99 problems, but an agent ain’t one. At least for the time being that is.

In the past few days, the rumor mill has picked up steam with talk that Geno Smith is seriously considering hiring Jay-Z and his newly founded talent agency Roc Nation as his marketing agency. Roc Nation cannot negotiate the football contract between Geno Smith and the New York Jets due to not being certified by the NFLPA.

The story is really gaining momentum, especially with Geno uploading photos to instagram of the Jets quarterback and the music mogul.

FWIW, here’s the instagram Geno Smith posted of him and Jay-Z. 828 likes? Not bad. twitter.com/SethWalderNYDN…

— Seth Walder (@SethWalderNYDN) May 15, 2013

There are pro and cons to hiring Jay-Z to represent Smith in all things not football. Chief among them are that Jay-Z brings a major personality to marketing. Everybody in the key marketing demographic of 18-35 knows who Jay-Z is. He has his hands in music, television, apparel, and even the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets.

If nothing else, the involvement of Jay-Z in Geno Smith’s endorsement deals will create a lot of positive media buzz, especially with younger people that are your cash cows for merchandising.

December 1, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers marching band performs before the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Milan Puskar Stadium. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 59-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When you think of fierce college football rivalries, you always think of the West Virginia vs Pitt rivalry, affectionately referred to as the “Backyard Brawl.” The series matching two of the Appalachian region’s greatest teams annually, was played annually every year between 1943 and 2011. The two schools matched up 104 times with the Pitt Panthers holding a 61-40-3 lead in the series.

Both Pitt and West Virginia also enjoyed a healthy hatred and rivalry with the other Appalachian powerhouse, Penn State. And as current Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson has made clear this week at the ACC meetings, the restoration of the rivalry with Penn State takes priority over the Backyard Brawl.

“I would sign a 30-year deal, if I could,” Pederson said. “It shouldn’t matter who the (university) president or the head coach is, these institutions should always play. It’s a great game. It’s got history to it, we’re three hours apart and in the same state. Those games ought to be played.” – Pederson on Pitt vs Penn State scheduling.

To Pedersen, it is more important to restore a rivalry with the team that they have not played since 2000 and not played annually since 1992. The rival that is three hours away. The rival that is down and out for the next decade thanks to NCAA sanctions.

It makes perfect sense to add Penn State to the schedule rather than renew your annual rivalry with the team 75 miles to the South. The team that is clearly the fiercest rival in your program’s history.

To be fair to Pedersen, it sounds like both schools are having a tough time finding room for the Backyard Brawl:

“We’re both trying to figure out when we can do it,” Pederson said. “We’re both in favor if it’s in the best interest of both schools.”

For the Mountaineers, it is a tough sell to get the Panthers back on the schedule with 9 Big XII conference games. Like so many top tier college football programs, the Mountaineers favor 7 home games a season, allowing for an infusion of ticket sales proceeds into their athletic budget.

Right now, the Mountaineers have an on-going series with the Maryland Terrapins annually. WVU also usually rents a FCS-level victim such as William & Mary.

For West Virginia to reignite a rivalry with Pitt would at the very least require that the series allow for home games for the Mountaineers in the years they had to travel to Maryland. More likely, Oliver Luck would not sign up for the Backyard Brawl as long as the Mountaineers are involved in a 9-game Big XII schedule and a long-term contract with the Maryland Terrapins.

While the rivalry with Maryland is a good one, it is not the same as the Backyard Brawl. It is more like the Pitt vs Penn State rivalry: solid, but not the #1 rivalry.

Mar 14, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins speaks at a press conference during practice for the second round of the 2012 NCAA men

According to research published by the Auburn University athletic department, the West Virginia University Mountaineers rank in the Top 25 of two out of three social media indexes.

The study, conducted by College Athletics Internet Digital Association (CAIDA), analyzes the social media activity of Division I FBS programs. The three leading social media sites analyzed in the study were Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

As the report shows, the Mountaineers made the Top 25 in both Twitter (#22) and Youtube (#18). The Mountaineers presence in Twitter is good enough for 4th in the Big XII conference with 30,720 followers. WVU trails Big XII Twitter champion Kansas, #5 overall with 61,855 followers. The Jayhawks strong presence on Twitter is clearly driven by their men’s basketball program and not their football program.

The Mountaineers are also looking up at Big XII foes Oklahoma at #7 with 57,045 followers and #20 Kansas State with 32,215 followers.

On the Youtube front, West Virginia fairs much better with 4,053 subscribers for #18 nationally. The Mountaineers subscription base is good enough for third in the Big XII conference. WVU trails #12 Oklahoma’s 5,543 subscribers and #17 Oklahoma State’s 4,511 subscribers.

It is somewhat surprising that the Mountaineers Youtube subscriptions are so low, given the massive amount of WVU videos on Youtube. The study must only be considering the WestVirginiaU official account and not the fan accounts like dougitydog (which puts out some amazing content).

The one social media where WVU is severely lacking is Facebook. The Mountaineers did not qualify for the Top 25 of the rating in terms of likes. According to Facebook, the West Virginia Mountaineers fan page claims 205,985 likes which would be good enough for #25 on the list ahead of Miami. Not sure whether the study used this page or not.

As it stands, the reigning champions of each social media are Ohio State on Facebook, Nebraska on Twitter, and Oregon on Youtube. To help the Mountaineers raise up the standings, like the Facebook fan page, follow @WestVirginiaU on Twitter, and subscribe to the WestVirginiaU channel on Youtube.

October 8, 2011; Morgantown,WV, USA: West Virginia Mountaineers receiver Ryan Nehlen (center) is tackled after a pass reception by Connecticut Huskies defensive backs Jerome Junior (15) and Byron Jones (16) during the second quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. WVU won 43-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

After watching his receiving corps teammates Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey get drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the NFL draft and seeing JD Woods sign an undrafted free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, former West Virginia University legacy Ryan Nehlen is getting his shot to play wide receiver at the highest level. Today, Nehlen received an invite to participate in the Detroit Lions rookie mini camp this weekend .

Nehlen, grandson of Mountaineers legendary coach Don Nehlen, will be looking to make a name for himself, starting this weekend in Detroit.

Nehlen joins a Lions roster that is in need of wide receiver depth behind All-Pro stud Calvin Johnson. The Lions struggled to get much production out of their other options at wide receiver including Nate Burleson, Ryan Broyles, Mike Thomas, and Titus Young.

With Young out and Broyles and Thomas struggling to live up to expectations, Nehlen will join a congested wide receiver group vying for a roster spot. The Lions have become the destination for wide receivers who have not lived up to expectations. They have signed draft busts such as Devin Thomas and Brian Robiskie in hopes that they can find their game once again. The Lions also burned a third round pick on Corey Fuller from Virginia Tech.

Ryan Nehlen has a huge hill to climb to make the Lions roster with so many other receivers on the depth chart. He will need to showcase his sure hands and high football IQ to get an invite to fall training camp.

This weekend is the first of many challenges for Nehlen on his path to becoming an NFL wide receiver.

November 17, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers linebacker Terence Garvin (28) at the line of scrimmage against the Oklahoma Sooners during the third quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Oklahoma Sooners won 50-49. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

It took a couple weeks, but finally, one of the former West Virginia University Mountaineers defensive stars was signed by an NFL franchise. WVU’s former star at safety and outside linebacker Terence Garvin signed a free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers today.

Garvin received a mini camp invite from the Steelers a few weeks back. Coach Tomblin and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau must have been impressed with Garvin’s quickness and agility. While Garvin is not the biggest outside linebacker (6’3″ 223 lbs) he is one of the more athletic linebackers and a potential star on special teams for the Steelers.

Pittsburgh is in desperate need of linebacker depth with the departure of former NFL Defensive MVP James Harrison and the serious injury to Sean Spence. Current reserve linebackers Sylvester Stevenson and Jason Worilds have underwhelmed in recent seasons as well.

The Steelers sought to shore up their linebacker deficiencies by drafting Georgia OLB Jarvis Jones and Florida State ILB Vince Williams. Garvin figures to fill in as the primary back-up to Lamar Woodley at one OLB position while Jones and Worilds fill in the opposite OLB position heading into fall training camp.

Garvin will need to demonstrate a knack for making big hits in kick coverage to find a home in Pittsburgh. Should he make the 53-man roster this fall, he will have the opportunity to be groomed by one of the most-talented defensive coordinators in all of football, Dick LeBeau.

Garvin should model his work ethic after that of James Harrison, a man who had to fight his way from the Pittsburgh practice squad to the special teams coverage before becoming a pro bowl linebacker in the Steelers blitz-happy defense.

Terence Garvin is now the third former West Virginia Mountaineer to sign as an undrafted free agent this season, joining WR JD Woods and C Joe Madsen. The Pittsburgh Steelers also employ former Mountaineers FB Will Johnson.

Sep 1, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Stedman Bailey (3) celebrates his touchdown reception with teammates in the fourth quarter against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone knows that college football is big money, but few realize just how big that money is. For most universities, college football is the cash cow that balances the books for the athletic department and funds the rest of the athletic scholarships. West Virginia University is know different.

In a study published by the Wall Street Journal this past winter, the WVU football program checked in as the 32nd “most valuable” football program amongst the major conference programs. This study, performed by Ryan Brewer of Indiana University – Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC), analyzed the intrinsic valuation of each of the BCS conference schools for the 2012 season. The values are based on publicly available information (minus Wake Forest which is a private school).

According to Brewer’s study, the WVU football program is worth $159.4 million. That placed WVU at #32 on the list, $5.2 million behind Arizona State at #31 and $400,000 ahead of Florida State at #33.

The Mountaineers high dollar value is a reflection of television revenues, tickets sales, sponsorship, and merchandising that has all increased as a result of the Mountaineers move to the Big XII. Fans have been more eager to attend match-ups against Big XII opponents like Oklahoma and Kansas State than they were when WVU was playing teams like Connecticut and Rutgers. Likewise, fans have been buying even more Mountaineers merchandise, especially items that signified their first season in the Big XII.

Part of the Mountaineers move to the Big XII involved the staggering of television revenue sharing. WVU is making only a fraction of the television revenue it should be to this point, meaning the Mountaineers value is only going to climb over the next few seasons.

That will hopefully allow the Mountaineers to climb the valuation rankings of the Big XII, where they currently sit sixth out of ten schools:

1. Texas $761.7 million

2. Oklahoma $454.7 million

3. Texas Tech $211.0 million

4. Oklahoma State $209.1 million

5. Kansas State $207.1 million

6. West Virginia $159.4 million

7. Iowa State $140.3 million

8. Kansas $103.4 million

9. TCU $76.6 million

10. Baylor $71.3

That means that as a conference, the Big XII is valued at a total of $2.395 billion with an average school worth $239.5 million.

As impressive as that is, how does the Big XII stack up compared to the other major conferences?

Oct 30, 2011; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Steve Slaton (23) is tackled by New York Giants defensive back Deon Grant (34) during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Farrell/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

If you haven’t seen it yet, Athlon Sports decided to publish their rankings of the Top 50 Running Backs of the BCS Era.

Unsurprisingly, the West Virginia Mountaineers placed two running backs on the list. What is surprising is that there were not three running backs for the WVU.

The two Mountaineers players who did make the cut were Avon Cobourne and Steve Slaton. Cobourne landed at #23 while Steve Slaton bested him by two spots at #21.

Cobourne earned the #23 spot thanks to a school best 5,039 career rushing yards and 42 touchdowns. He probably would have been much higher on the list had the Mountaineers realized more success during his time in Morgantown.

Slaton ended up two spots higher fueled by a couple of dark-horse Heisman campaign and a pair of BCS bowl rigns. In Slaton’s three seasons on campus, he amassed 3,923 rushing yards, 805 receiving yards, and 55 total touchdowns.

The surprising omission on the list for the Mountaineers is the lightning bug Noel Devine. The rise of Devine led (partially) to Slaton’s decision to opt out early of college and head to the NFL draft. Noel was the featured back in Morgantown for three seasons. He racked up 4,317 rushing yards, 710 receiving yards, 736 return yards, and 31 total touchdowns.

Devine checked in on Athlon’s supplemental 50 list at #93 overall.

Still, even with the oversight, the Mountaineers landed three players out of a list of 100 running backs from more than 120 FBS schools over a 12-year period. That is impressive to say the least.

When Athlon publishes a list of the top 50 running backs of the College Football Playoff Era, don’t expect to see a single Mountaineer on the list. Coach Dana Holgorsen’s offense is far to pass heavy for any WVU running back to amass any kind of significant stats.