Ye olde notebook:
At the conclusion of Saturday's WVU Gold-Blue spring game, Dana Holgorsen thanked The Greenbrier resort owner Jim Justice and his staff for hosting the event.
"I hope we can continue to come down [to The Greenbrier] for many years to come," Holgorsen said.
That may happen, but the spring game will return to Morgantown in 2017.
WVU athletic director Shane Lyons confirmed that on Monday, but said the team could return to White Sulphur Springs for a practice, a la 2015.
It will be interesting to see if WVU simply goes there or if it returns to the days of barnstorming. The Mountaineers took their show on the road in the past to places like Charleston and Wheeling.
It will also be interesting to see if WVU can ever goose their fans to attend the spring game in stronger fashion.
As I wrote for Sunday's paper, Ohio State set a national record with over 100,000 to its game. No one, of course, expects that in Morgantown. Also, throw out the estimated 6,000 that attended the latest Gold-Blue event. The visit to "God's Country" had a nice, cozy feel, but getting to the Sports Performance Center in Greenbrier County isn't easy for many.
Recently, though, the numbers have been down for the event. Weather and enthusiasm for the state of the program come into play, but in 2013 WVU's spring crowd ranked No. 40 nationally at 8,100. In 2014, West Virginia was No. 25 at 10,000, right behind Boise State and Utah. In 2015, it was No. 36 at 8,115 before dipping to this past weekend's 6,000.
The ongoing construction on Milan Puskar Stadium's field, of course, made playing the game there impossible this year. That's why WVU had to secure a waiver from the NCAA that allowed coaches to interact with visiting recruits. There was a "no-off-campus" rule in place.
n While on the topic of Puskar Stadium, I asked Lyons about the ongoing project of laying down new FieldTurf.
"I'm saying the completion date will be in a week or so," Lyons said. "We thought it would be late May or early June, but the weather helped."
n Prepare thyself for another round of Big 12 expansion reporting.
The league's athletic directors and coaches will meet in Phoenix in early May. Then, later in the month, the ADs and school presidents will get together in Irving, Texas.
I had to laugh at one report that pointed to WVU president "G. Gordon Lee." Somehow E. Gordon Gee had been transformed into a cross between a Watergate conspirator and a Confederate general.
That aside, I contacted Gee about the possibilities on Monday.
"My Big 12 colleagues and I are exploring all options and opportunities," he said, "but we have no specific time frame in which or whether to make specific recommendations."
n As you may know, part of Oklahoma president Dave Boren's expansion hopes is to fold Texas' Longhorn Network into a league-wide Big 12 network.
Well, apparently, the Longhorn Network is still kicking. UT released an announcement that its network was launching in Texas and Oklahoma on cloud-based live TV service PlayStation Vue.
"The University of Texas sports channel will be available through PlayStation Vue's Core multi-channel plan starting at $34.99 in select cities," says the release.
"ESPN is committed to Longhorn Network and serving Texas sports fans wherever they consume content," said Stacie McCollum, ESPN senior director, LN programming.
"We have a great relationship with the network and additional distribution of content remains a hallmark of success," said UT athletic director Mike Perrin.
A hallmark of success?
n While on the topic of the Big 12, keep an eye on Kansas coach Dave Beatty. I'm hearing more and more compliments about him.
In case you're unaware, he moved to the Jayhawks from Texas A&M, where he was Kevin Sumlin's assistant and ace recruiter.
Well, I listened in on last week's coaches' teleconference and he said KU went from 20 players who could bench-press 300 pounds to 51. He said his team went from 16 who could squat 450 pounds to 38. And he said there were 13 Jayhawks with 32-inch vertical leaps last season. Now there are 29.
n Last year, WVU defensive coordinator Tony Gibson predicted his unit would be terrific and, if not, it was on him.
There wasn't such a declaration this spring.
"We're nowhere even close to being game-ready," he said.
n And finally...
I ran into West Virginia strength coach Mike Joseph after Saturday's practice and asked him about a couple measurables.
"I'd say the fastest we have right now are [receivers] Shelton Gibson and Marcus Simms and [cornerback] Antonio Crawford," Joseph said. "I'd have to say the strongest are [center] Tyler Orlosky and [defensive linemen] Christian Brown and Darrien Howard."
So there ya go.