We are now a week away from the Gold-Blue Game at Milan Puskar Stadium. So spring drills have been going at a furious pace over the past week or so. I really don't have a lot of insight into what is going on in practices, so let's go back once again to the corps of state sportswriters for assistance in breaking down the major themes of spring.

• Pat McAfee is not the idiot kicker. Just ask Mickey Furfari or the DA's Tony Dobies.
• Chuck Finder and Mitch Vingle lament the secondary. I certainly expected this to be the major concern coming into spring drills, looks like it's living up to that. Some fans gave our corners a lot of flack the last few seasons, but they were an experienced bunch last year and now we're left with very little game experience in that area of the field.
• Wednesday's practice did not go so well, but Friday's was much, much better. Bill Stewart had some tough love for the team on Thursday morning, seemingly for the first time during his tenure.
• Puff Pieces: Brandon Hogan featuring more prominently in the slot, Nate Sowers battling for playing time at safety.
• The most bizarre story of the week by far is Mike Casazza's profile of JUCO end Larry Ford's struggle to gain weight. I gained 20 pounds my first year in Towers, so can you Larry. Although it seems like he is already eating an obscene amount of food. Don't they make supplements and such that add on weight pretty quickly? I'm sure that's a problem a lot of us would like to have though. Somebody get that kid some pepperoni rolls and Mister Bee's potato chips.

Joe Alexander has announced he might enter the NBA draft. He actually did not sign with an agent, so he can withdraw his name up until June 16, ten days before the draft. It's really a non-event to me, with the option to withdraw and return to school it would be foolish not to throw your hat into the ring. I think the best decision will be for Alexander to return to school. It's not like WVU is a pro factory (yet), just ask Gordon Malone.

The suspense and drama that is the WNBA draft was held Wednesday, just one day after the women's title game. I guess it has to be held as soon as possible with the season beginning around Memorial Day. WVU's Olayinka Sanni was drafted in the second round, #18 overall by the Detroit Shock. Meg Bulger, after being inadvertently drafted by the Sacremento Monarchs in last year's draft despite having a final year of college eligibility, was not drafted in the three-round draft this season. I'll admit to have never watched a WNBA game, and probably won't any time soon. And for the record, WVU has had two more players drafted to the WNBA than the NBA in this decade.

Then came gameday. Pregame, the only thing nastier than the weather were the Rutgers dance and cheerleading squads. Yikes. The weather cleared up before kickoff, but was still pretty windy. That would not last. The skies opened. Not really sure when, but at that point it got a little primal. Coincidently, that's the point in time that WVU just kicked it into overdrive and left the overmatched Scarlet Knights behind. It was sweet.

Obviously, the whole team played great. However, I want to mention the performance of Pat McAfee. He was great. From solid kickoffs to the big field goal before halftime, Pat was gigantic.

Some thoughts on Rutgers:

I went up to the game in 2005. Same weather as this game. This time, there were alot more Rutgers fans there. That's a positive for the program and the Big East.

On the flip side, the program still has a ways to go. 40,000 seat stadium? Come on. No out of town scores. No stats. A sub par band. Long lines at bathrooms. Fellas, you aren't going 3-8 anymore.

I don't like Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, but respect him. However, it was GREAT to watch him throw off his headphones and start walking out onto the field before Rod made his move. He had his ass kicked enough.

Have fun again down at Houston, Rutgers.

Meanwhile, the good guys are gaining steam. I pity Louisville, Cincy, UConn and Pitt.