WVU head football coach dismisses 3 players one day after signing day

3 football players were dismissed from the WVU football team 2 days after being arrested on drug charges. Senior DB John Holmes, Junior RB Ed Collington and Sophomore DE James Ingram have been dismissed from the Mountaineer football team.

Many questioned whether Bill Stewart was capable of being the head football coach at West Virginia Univerity. He has passed his first test with flying colors. As of now, WVU has accepted 23 signed letters of intent and are expecting at least 2 more in the next day or so. Mountaineer Cave will have a full analysis of the 2008 recruiting class very soon.

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National Letter of Intent Signing Day is Tomorrow!

West Virginia University's football coaching staff is anxiously awaiting the decisions of several key targets as signing day is less than 7 hours away.

Among those who have yet to announce their decision and are still considering the Mountaineers, perhaps in state OL Josh Jenkins is the most important. However, WR's Martavious Odoms and Ty Hilton, DB's Robert Sands and Leonard Johnson, and QB Coley White are also being watched closely. White's high school teammate, RB Reggie Hunt, came along for an official visit this past weekend and speculation is that he really enjoyed his visit. Florida OL Greg Shaw will choose between WVU and LSU tomorrow at a noon press conference. Jatavious Miller is a DB from Florida who visited Morgantown a few weeks ago. Rumors are swirling he is leaning WVU's way.


Coach Stewart and his staff deserve a standing ovation for the way they have addressed their needs with this class. If all goes as projected they will have added depth on the defensive line, which is important with the loss of 2 defensive line stalwarts in Johnny Dingle and Keilen Dykes. They managed to keep several kids on board who had previously pledged to former head coach Rich Rodriguez as well. I believe that the 2009 class will show just how good Coach Stewart and staff will be in the recruiting game. For now they are making the most out of the little time they have had as a staff and putting together a typical solid WVU class.

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Big football recruiting weekend in Morgantown

It is the last weekend before signing day and the West Virginia Mountaineers have several of their top prospects heading into town. Recruits can sign their binding LOI's beginning Wednesday 2/6/08, making this weekend a big as far as recruiting goes. Expected to visit Morgantown this weekend are the following prospects.....................


WR Eugene Hilton 5-10/165 Miami Springs , FL
OL Greg Shaw 6-6/ 280 Miami, FL
CB Leonard Johnson 5-11/ 18o Largo, FL
ATH Coley White 6-1/ 185 Mobile, AL
RB Terrance Kerns 6-1/240 Frederick, MD
DB Robert Sands 6/6 195 Miami, FL


There could be a few surprise visitors as well, however it is best to keep those quiet for now. Continue to check back with Mountaineer Cave as updates will be provided as often as new information becomes available.

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Hawaiian Offensive Lineman to visit WVU this weekend?

West Virginia may be getting a surprise visitor on the last weekend of recruiting before signing day on Wednesday February 6th. The following appeared in today's Salt Lake Tribune......

It seems like there comes a time during the recruitment of high-profile athletes when those athletes stop talking to newspaper reporters and Web site hosts and information is funneled through another source, such as a high school coach or family member.I get the feeling that's what is happening with some of the Kahuku, Haw., football players that Utah is recruiting and with Uona Kaveinga, the four-star linebacker that committed to BYU but is now said to be considering USC.

So, I called Kahuku coach Reggie Torres today, and he had some interesting information, especially regarding Benji Kemoeatu, the four-star offensive lineman whom Utah is dying to get.

To wit:* West Virginia is making a late run at Kemoeatu, but hasn't decided whether it will offer a scholarship or not."Benji is getting calls from [West Virginia], so he wants to see what they are doing first before he decides anything," Torres said. "If West Virginia gives him an offer to fly there [this weekend], that's what he is going to do."* USC also recently made contact with Kemoeatu.

http://blogs.sltrib.com/recruiting/2008/01/football-west-virginia-jumps-in.html

I believe WVU is interested in this player as a center prospect. Kemoeatu has a brother who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers just 70 miles north of Morgantown. Stay tuned as Mountaineer Cave will continue to update this situation, along with many other developing stories, as signing day draws closer.

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4 big basketball recruits attend Georgetown game

WVU men's basketball coach Bobby Huggins hosted 4 big time hoops recruits this past weekend as WVU got a head start on future recruiting classes.

These four recruits(signing year next to name) were at the GTown game on unofficial visits.......

Bobby Capobianco 2009

Zeke Marshall 2009

Allen Payne 2010

Stevie Taylor 2011

Capobianco is a 6-8 230 pound power forward out of Ohio who is an excellent defender and rebounder. Marshall is a 6-11 245 pound center just up the road at McKeesport. Payne is a 6-6 215 pound swing man from the buckeye state who could be the crown jewel off what will be a fantastic 2010 WVU class. Taylor, also of Ohio, is a 5-5, 155 pound point guard who can fly up and down the court.

Huggins was recently quoted as saying that he and his staff will start recruiting kids as early as their 8th grade year. Looking at the list of visitors for the Georgetown game one can see that Bobby Hugggins, Dave Hahn, Larry Harrison and Eric Martin are hitting the recruiting trail hard.

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Mountaineers add JUCO defensive lineman

D.J. Shaw was holding out hope he would earn a scholarship offer from a top Division I school. Schools like Ohio University and Jackson State offered up free rides, but the 6-2, 275 pound player from Meadville, MS was looking for a better offer. WVU coaches stopped by to watch some tape at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College and liked what they saw out of Shaw. A scholarship was offered and now Shaw has become the latest addition to the Mountaineers 2008 recruiting class. With standout defensive linemen Keilen Dykes and Johnny Dingle headed to the National Football League it became imperative that the Mountaineers find a few players who could step in right away. Shaw has the strength and experience to compete for time at nose tackle for WVU with returning letter winner Chris Neild. Some will consider this a reach, but I think it is safe to say that the WVU coaching staff is not just going around handing out scholarship offers to those who can't compete at this level. Only time will tell, but Shaw will at the very least provide some size and depth along the Mountaineer defensive line.

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Mountaineers land athletic defender

Atlanta Mays defensive end Bernard Smith gave his verbal pledge to the West Virginia Mountaineer football coaches today. Smith was so sure of his decision after his weekend in Morgantown he called Arkansas Razorback coaches to tell them he wouldn't be making his scheduled trip to the SEC school next weekend. Smith gives the Mountaineer coaching staff another versatile, athletic defender in the 2008 class. Recruiting Coordinator Doc Holliday may have a few more tricks up his sleeve in the very near future. Be sure to check back at Mountaineer Cave frequently as more good news on the recruiting front is said to be imminent.

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