Ye olde notebook:
n The other day you read in this space about Oklahoma offensive threat Dede Westbrook, a lethal wide receiver, and WVU's thoughts on stopping him in Saturday's Associated Press top-10 matchup.
Today, though, let's get a little more personal on the Mountaineer side.
One of the cornerbacks charged with stopping Westbrook is Rasul Douglas, a 6-foot-2, 208-pound redshirt senior. In case you've missed it, he has six interceptions and is second nationally only to Florida State's Tavarus McFadden, who has seven.
What does Douglas think about the lofty status?
"I'm trying to be No. 1," he said.
That, of course, is the attitude for which coaches yearn. What might have put him in that lofty status, though, is the attitude taken in the offseason.
"Getting in the weight room kind of took over my spring and summer," Douglas said. "I didn't go home a lot. I texted [strength coach] Mike [Joseph] a lot and asked if he'd be here. I told him I wanted to work out, even if everybody else was going home. Me, Dravon Henry and [Jeremy Tyler] did a lot to work on our craft."
Douglas is repaying WVU's faith in recruiting him so heavily out of Nassau (N.Y.) Community College, where FSU, Georgia, Tennessee and others also visited.
"This offseason helped him a bunch," said WVU defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. "He's playing at a very high level right now. Pleased with him. He works, studies film and is putting up numbers we haven't seen around here in a long time."
And the key?
"I trust my instincts a lot," Douglas said. "Coach Blue [Adams] always tells us, 'Don't fear the skunk. If it looks like a skunk and it smells like a skunk, it's definitely a skunk. Trust your eyes.'"
n Another cornerback charged with stopping OU's wideouts is 5-11 graduate transfer Maurice Fleming, formerly of Iowa. And he too has a cool story.
First, let's touch on his prior stop.
"I told the coaches at Iowa, 'I thank you for everything, but I want to open up my [recruitment] and find a new home,' " he said. "I came to West Virginia and just fell in love."
Gibson was the first one from WVU to reach out to Fleming. Yet the more interesting part of the cornerback's story happened in his formative years.
"I grew up on the west side of Chicago," he said. "Growing up in Chicago, I didn't even think I would go to college, honestly. You don't have that much in Chicago; there's not much in Chicago. All you have is sports. My mother stressed to me education was the key to get me where I wanted to be in sports."
Rochelle Harper, mother of Fleming, take a bow.
"There was a time I didn't participate in school," said the redshirt senior. "I wanted to goof off with friends. So she took sports away from me. That kind of hurt and opened my eyes up. You gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done in school."
He paused.
"I played football, basketball, baseball, soccer," Fleming said. "She had me in hockey. When I couldn't stop in hockey, they told me 'You might as well do speed skating.' So she made me do speed skating. She just kept me out of trouble."
Fleming said if his NFL dreams don't pan out, he'll finish with his studies in communications. And of his decision to hit Morgantown?
"I didn't expect much," Fleming said, "but I've learned a lot being here. I'm just thankful. Wish I would have been here for the past four years, honestly."
n And finally ...
I couldn't pass on an opportunity to ask WVU assistant JaJuan Seider about head coach Dana Holgorsen's tirade in the Texas game. In case you missed it, a first-quarter fumble by running back Justin Crawford in the red zone wiped out a golden opportunity to score against the Longhorns.
Holgorsen went after Seider, the running backs coach, pointing in his face, and screaming as veins bulged. Remember, Seider also served as a graduate assistant to ex-WVU coach Rich Rodriguez, also known for his rants.
"Well, I mean, Dana was on one Saturday," Seider said. "We all got a little piece of it, including myself. That's just being competitive and wanting to win. Sometimes the eyes from the outside can see it as bad, but sometimes we do stuff like that to motivate the whole team, to make guys focus in.
"Some things aren't acceptable," Seider continued, "like turning the ball over when you have a chance to score.
"Look, you can yell and fuss at anybody - as long as you're not crossing a line. It's never been over that line. Yes, at the end of the day, you are a man. As long as you put things in perspective, there aren't hard feelings. Hell, me and Dana are as close as anyone on this staff. I mean, hell, I'll yell back at him."
In sum?
"We drank Diet Cokes after the game and laughed it off," Seider said.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.