IRVIN: NOTHING CHANGES
“They already got their whole system up and running and our whole (defensive) staff is still here,” Irvin said Saturday afternoon inside the Milan Puskar Center. “It’s just going to be another face talking at the end of practice pretty much.” Holgorsen and Director of Athletics Oliver Luck were available to speak to the media Friday night following Bill Stewart’s mid-afternoon decision to resign effective immediately. Stewart, ending his WVU tenure with a 28-12 record that included a win over Oklahoma in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, was originally slated to coach the Mountaineers through the 2011 campaign before handing the program off to Holgorsen after the season. But that plan was scrapped yesterday. “Coach Stew was a good dude and he was willing to help you as long as you were willing to help yourself,” said Irvin. “He was all about leading the program the right way and doing the right things outside the facility - going to class; he really was a father figure to a lot of us. He will be missed.” Irvin’s new coach spoke to some members of the team Saturday morning and laid out his plan from this point on. “Coach Holgorsen is a straight-forward guy,” Irvin said. “He told us nothing is going to change. It’s going to be the same thing, same routine, same strength schedule; everything is the same.” The Big East's top returning sack man admitted it was beginning to get cumbersome turning on the television set each afternoon and watching the college football shows recycle the same bits of news over and over again about the Mountaineer program. “There are always negative things about us on (ESPN's) College Football Live. I never see anything good about us on there, but it brings us together with all of the negatively surrounding the program and everybody thinking things are going to be a distraction,” Irvin said. “Honestly, it’s good that it happened (Stewart’s resignation) but even if it didn’t happen, I still think we would have handled business come this fall. “When we start winning time heals all stuff," Irvin added. "If we go 11-1 everybody is going to forget about the situation.” After making that statement, Irvin was immediately asked which team he thought West Virginia would lose to. “We might have a bad game or fumble in overtime or something,” he laughed, while artfully dodging the question. “You never know.” One thing Irvin does know is that the players can now move forward and concentrate on the 2011 football campaign, beginning with the season opener against Marshall at Milan Puskar Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 4. “I’m glad we got this out of the way because it was starting to get annoying with all of the blogs and all of the he-said, she-said stuff going on,” Irvin admitted. “It’s good that they got it over with so we could get going with our season. You hear the reports and, of course, we talk about it amongst ourselves in the locker room, but we can’t control it. “At the end of the day it’s about going out there and working and getting better every day and getting ready for the season,” he said. “All of the front office stuff Oliver Luck handles that. We don’t have control over who runs the team and who has the headsets on along the sideline. “All we can control is working hard and going out there and getting better every day.” And that is exactly what Irvin and his Mountaineer teammates are setting out to do for the remainder of this summer. |
 Harrison Musgrave strikes out 14 in TCU victory |
 Around the Horn with Randy Mazey |
 TCU Postgame: Randy Mazey |
 TCU Postgame: Randy Mazey |
 Around the Horn With Randy Mazey |
 Randy Mazey Teleconference |
 |
