THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Friday September 13, 2013
GAMEDAY EDITION | 15
big 12 notebook
Oklahoma State deals with Sports Illustrated Report by greg madia multimedia editor
Oklahoma State Dealing with Crisis With Sports Illustrated reporting problems and scandal within the Oklahoma State football program, officials in Stillwater, Okla., are trying to deal with the findings in the report. The SI report includes multiple accusations for Oklahoma State. Under former head coach Les Miles and current head coach Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State is being ac-
cused of players committing academic fraud, of paying players for performance on the field and of arranging hostesses for recruits on visits. Oklahoma State Athletic Director Mike Holder is taking this report seriously and trying to make everything right as fast as possible. “I apologize to all of the athletic directors in the conference for what’s about to happen, what’s about to be said about a member institution,” Holder said in a press conference earlier this week.
“That reflects on everyone, all of our brothers and peers. I’ve reached out, but couldn’t call all of our supporters. I’d like to call every single season ticket holder we’ve got. We’re about to sell a record number of season tickets. We have a responsibility to those people. They’re going to suffer from this, as well.”
Texas Fires Diaz After a dismal defensive performance Saturday night against BYU, Texas head coach Mack Brown felt it was in the best interest of his program to
remove Manny Diaz as the Longhorns’ defensive coordinator. In turn, Brown has called on Greg Robinson, the former Syracuse head coach and Michigan assistant to replace Diaz. “After the ball game, I watched the video on the way home. We got back around 4:30 in the morning and then watched the film again, and then just felt like we needed to make a change,” Brown said. BYU rushed for 550 yards while putting up 40 points against Texas in the game.
“It’s not a panic move because it’s early in the season and Greg Robinson has been here; he was on our staff. We knew there was improvement after midseason last year and that the improvement needed to continue,” Brown said. “It didn’t, and because we have better players than we have production right now, that’s the reason the decision was made.” Baylor Offense is Rolling In back to back weeks Baylor has put up at least 69 points. It has scored 19
total touchdowns in the two weeks and is firing on all cylinders. Head coach Art Briles can see the success first-year starting quarterback Bryce Petty is having after sitting behind Robert Griffin III and Nick Florence. “We’ve evolved from Robert’s (Griffin) time to Nick (Florence) now to Bryce (Petty), and each one of those guys bring different things to the table, but hopefully the end result is same with Baylor victories,” Briles said. dasports@mail.wvu.edu
mel moraes/the daily athenaeum
Senior linebacker Doug Rigg being carted off the field after a collision with a teammate against Oklahoma Saturday.
Rigg in good spirits following collision against OU by doug walp sports writer
As senior linebacker Doug Rigg lay motionless on the field after a horrific collision during a fourth quarter play in Norman, Okla., Saturday, his teammate Darwin Cook couldn’t help but break into tears. “When I saw him lying on the ground, I got so emotional,” Cook said. “I started crying after the first test. He didn’t move, then he moved his arm, and I started crying some more. And then they did the third test on him – he didn’t feel his finger and I just started bawling.” Sophomore safety Karl Joseph, known as one of West Virginia’s most physical players and hardest hitting defenders, had his sights set on Oklahoma running back Brennan Clay, who was trying to make a move upfield late in a close game. But it just so happened that Joseph’s teammate Rigg was also trying to bring down the 5-foot-11, 200-pound tailback Clay. When Joseph tried to deliver a hit and Clay ducked, it set up a dreadful collision between the two teammates that left Rigg unconscious and a packed house of approximately 85,000 in horrified silence. Rigg was completely out for about half a minute, and everyone feared the worst – spinal injury,
paralysis; it simply didn’t look good. Even after Rigg regained consciousness, it still seemed apparent that this was different than a normal football injury, as Rigg’s teammates circled him, and the team of medical personnel were working feverishly with the fallen linebacker. Rigg was eventually carted off the field with his helmet still securely taped around his head and his teammates still in stunned shock, though Rigg was able to finally motion to the crowd and television cameras that he was at least able to move his arm as he exited the field en route to a nearby Oklahoma hospital. After the game, Rigg’s teammates sat on the team plane contemplating the tough loss but more importantly the well-being of their teammate and brother, whom they assumed would have to spend at least the night in the Oklahoma hospital, maybe more. But then, after almost everyone had been loaded onto the plane, one last West Virginia player entered the cabin, completely on his own. It was Rigg, and he was walking. “That was so good,” Cook said. “When I found out he was OK, it was so satisfying. It was like we won the game when I found out.” Joseph, who delivered the hit and was report-
edly visibly shaken up in postgame interviews, was also elated upon seeing that Rigg had only suffered what’s now being diagnosed as a minor concussion. “It was definitely a relief because we thought he was going to stay overnight,” Joseph said. “But when we saw him walk in, I know everybody was relieved. We’re just hoping to get him back on the field as soon as he can.” That’s right, after what looked initially like a season-or even career-ending injury could now only hold Rigg out a single week, as long as the senior is able to pass a series of concussion tests. In fact, Rigg was actually back in good spirits and even attended player interviews this week at Milan Puskar Stadium. “I’m actually all right,” Rigg said. “I just remember trying to tackle the OU running back and next thing you know, the trainer is over me saying, ‘Wake up.’ Honestly, when I got hit, everything just went black. “People told me I was out for like 30 seconds, and I didn’t know at all. It felt like I literally just got hit and then somebody was talking to me, so that’s all I can really remember.” Rigg said he experienced something similar as a freshman in high school when he was knocked out cold and had
to be carried off the field, but said despite how bad Saturday’s play looked on film and TV, when he actually woke up he never once felt scared he might not be able to walk. “I knew I wasn’t paralyzed when I woke up – they were doing tests like move your fingers, move your toes and people couldn’t really see, because they were all crowded around, so I knew I had full functional movement, it’s just that I was kind of really out of it,” he said. Rigg said he considers himself day to day but also pointed out that the most realistic spot for his return at this time would be the Maryland game Sept. 21. The senior linebacker also took the opportunity with reporters Tuesday to reach out to the droves of fans, from both West Virginia and Oklahoma, who expressed concern after the injury Saturday. Rigg has also tweeted numerous thank-you’s out in the following days. “I got a lot of love from Mountaineer fans, OU fans and friends and family back home, so I’m really appreciative about that,” Rigg said. “I was actually in shock – I didn’t realize the extent of how bad it looked. So I’m really appreciative about everyone that reached out to me from both sides.” dasports@mail.wvu.edu
ERIN IRWIN/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Senior linebacker Doug Rigg tries to make a play against William & Mary in West Virginia’s home opener.
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