Tavon Austin is making some noise already at the NFL Scouting Combine long before his Sunday workouts, telling reporters who he thinks is the best all-around player in the draft.
And yes, you guessed it, he’s referring to Tavon Austin.
Though generally softspoken, Austin has a way of carrying weight with his words as West Virginia fans surely know.
From USA Today: click here.
From NBC Sports ProFootballTalk: click here.
From NESN: click here.
Ron Crook, the tight ends and offensive tackles coach at Stanford since 2011, will be the offensive line coach at West Virginia according to multiple Post-Gazette sources.
Crook has been formally offered, and accepted the job, but will not be announced until the completion of the University's formal vetting process, said sources.
The position was vacated by Bill Bedenbaugh who took the same position at Oklahoma a week ago.
Crook has those coveted West Virginia ties, as he’s a native of Parkersburg, W.Va. and has had stops along the way at West Liberty, Cincinnati, Clarion, Glenville State, West Virginia Tech, Illinois, Harvard.
The news was first reported this afternoon by the website CoachScoop.com
Here is a link to his Stanford bio.
The NFL Scouting Combine is this weekend in Indianapolis, and four West Virginia players will be there showing off what they've got.
Both Smith and Austin are ranked as top-5 prospects in their position by multiple analysts, including NFL Network's Mike Maycock who has Smith as his top ranked QB and Austin as his fourth ranked wide receiver.
CBS Sports ranks Smith as the No. 15 overall prospect, first among QBs, and ranks Austin the No. 39 overall prospect, and No. 4 among wide receivers.
Smith has confirmed he will throw and do a full workout at the combine, which should be interesting.
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Combine workout schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 23: Tight ends, offensive linemen, special teams
Sunday, Feb. 24: Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers
Monday, Feb. 25: Defensive linemen, linebackers
Tuesday, Feb. 26: Defensive backs
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Excerpt from today’s story in the PG on local players going to the combine:
Four West Virginia players have been invited, including quarterback Geno Smith and receiver Tavon Austin. Many draft analysts predict both could be first-round selections.
Receiver Stedman Bailey, who announced in December he will forgo his senior year, and center Joe Madsen also were invited.
Smith will do a full workout for scouts, despite the recent trend of top quarterbacks choosing not to do so.
"Honestly, it's just a matter of me getting out and competing and show some coaches what I can do," Smith said last week on a radio interview with 610Sports in Kansas City. "It's only a little bit of who I am as a player but it's still good to let them see me throw live-action ... it's good to be out there and compete and also showcase my talents."
Smith, who is 6 feet 3 and weighed as much as 225 pounds to start the season but now is listed at 214, threw for 4,205 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season.
Austin, at 5-9, 174 pounds, was primarily a slot receiver in his career at West Virginia. He had 114 receptions and 1,289 receiving yards as a senior, but broke out for 673 rushing yards on 72 attempts, mostly in the second half of the season.
Bailey posted 1,622 receiving yards with 114 receptions and a team-leading 25 touchdowns.
Madsen, 6-4, 310 pounds, was a four-year starter at center.
Two West Virginia players were arrested over the weekend for separate incidents, according to a report in this morning’s Dominion Post.
Safety Karl Joseph was arrested for a DUI under 21 and possession of a fake I.D. and safety Travis Bell was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery according to the report.
Joseph, who is 19, was spotted driving without headlights on around 2:45 a.m. Sunday when Officer M.K. Poremba pulled him over, he said he had “glassy, bloodshot eyes and his breath smelled of alcohol" according to the story.
When asked for his license the officer spotted the license of freshman linebacker Isaiah Bruce behind his own. He failed two sobriety tests at the scene, with a blood alcohol level of .054, more than twice the minimum .02 required for a misdemeanor charge of DUI under 21.
“I have been made aware of the situation and I am gathering facts at this time. I will take appropriate action when all the facts are in,” coach Dana Holgorsen said in a statement to the Post.
Joseph showed significant promise on the field during his freshman season for the Mountaineers, leading the team in tackles with 104.
Geno Smith did a fairly long interview with 610Sports in Kansas City last week - on Feb. 13 - touching on multiple subjects leading into the NFL Combine.
Most notably, Smith confirmed news that he will do a full workout at the combine and told host Danny Parkins why he made the decision to do so.
“Honestly it’s just a matter of me getting out and competing and being able to show some coaches what I can do,” said Smith. “It’s only a little bit of who I am as a player but it’s still good to allow them see me throw live action…it’s good to be out there and compete and also just showcase my talents.”
When asked why do a full workouts considering other top quarterbacks have often skipped throwing at the combine, Smith said:
“Obviously I’m aware of that. And it was one of those situations, where I wanted to go and pretty much solidify that and shut everyone up. My agents, coaches, and people that are close to me held me back on that. They can’t hold me back from going out and throwing. That’s one of my strong suits. I believe that if you do well when the lights are on and the combine, is a perfect opp for met to go out and showcase my talents.
“I’m aware other quarterbacks may not have thrown. Those are their decisions…In my case, I made this decision and I told everyone that I’m pretty much tired of all the speculation and I’m ready really to go out there and end all of that.”
To listen to the full interview, click here.