Chip Shots

West Virginia University’s Football Team concludes Spring drills this Saturday with the annual Gold-Blue Spring Football Game presented by Kroger on Saturday, April 21, at 6 p.m., at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.

The gates open at 4:30 p.m., and tickets are available at the Milan Puskar Stadium North and West gates on game day. For more information call 1-800-WVU-GAME
In-stadium festivities are set to begin at 5:30 p.m. with the old timer’s game, featuring former Mountaineer players. The Gold-Blue Game, slated to begin at approximately 6 p.m., will conclude WVU's spring football drills. The defense will make up the blue team, while the offense will be the gold squad.

Much of WVU’s drills have been unavailable to media. Typically, media members are allowed to watch the first half hour of practice and then they have to leave. That, presumably, is when Coach Dana Holgorsen and his staff go to work on the things the football starving fans really want to know about.

We know that quarterback Geno Smith; with dynamic receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey returning will be one of the best triumvirates at those positions in the country. All things point to a really special season for those three weapons, but the fans want to know more.

Running back Dustin Garrison is rehabbing a knee this spring, so fans want to know if anyone has stepped up? We know Shawne Alston will get plenty of carries this fall as the big back, but did Andrew Buie do enough this spring to be able to challenge a healthy Garrison? Some rumors suggest Buie had a good spring, but if the media didn’t see it, did it really happen? Laughter here…

Bailey and Austin are stars, but there are plenty of balls to be caught in this offense by other receivers. Will Ivan McCartney have his breakout season? He has the talent to fly in first class with Austin and Bailey.

Obviously the defensive side of the ball is where there are very few answered questions. Heavy losses, a new scheme and new defensive coaching staff will be the key to how much overall success these Mountaineers can achieve. It is thought that defense will be a liability, but Big 12 offenses tend to make most defenses look bad.

So, defensive coordinators Joe DeForest and Keith Patterson will have to be patient installing the new 3-4 defense that will replace Jeff Casteel’s 3-3-5 which WVU has used for the last 11 seasons. Just what philosophy these new coaches employ will be interesting.

Some of the answers may become clearer as the Gold-Blue game unfolds, but don’t expect to see much revealed, especially on offense. According to msnsportsnet.com, the game will be available for viewing on ESPN3