MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bowl trips are usually filled with team activities, gifts and other fun things outside of the game itself, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the extracurricular aspect of the Liberty Bowl is just another casualty of the pandemic.
As West Virginia is set to take on Army on Thursday, the Mountaineers would typically already be in Memphis to practice, but also doing trips around the city and community service projects at local hospitals or charities.
Instead, this year will be more akin to a regular season road game, or as senior defensive tackle Darius Stills called it, a “business trip.” The Mountaineers will leave for the game today, just a day prior to the game, and return immediately after the game
It’s different. Before COVID, we would go down and enjoy our time, but since it hit we are treating it more like a regular road game,” Stills said. “It sucks because the freshmen don’t know what that feels like. It’s also not good for the upper class because we know what it feels like to go to a bowl game.”
Both teams will still receive bowl gifts as it would under normal circumstances, but missing out on the experience is disappointing. That’s why head coach Neal Brown wanted to try and replicate as best he could in and around Morgantown.
Last week, the team went to Wisp Resort in McHenry, Md., for snow-tubing.
“Our guys had a blast,” Brown said. “You want to create memories. This is the last game of the 2020 season, the last game for this group, and I think you need to create some memories outside the game as part of this experience.”
Self-admittedly, Brown was not the fastest down the slopes, evidence by a video he posted to his social media accounts. He was passed by redshirt-freshman offensive lineman and Morgantown native Nick Malone.
No mind to Brown, it was the experience that matters most, and trying to make memories during a difficult and different time is what he wants to accomplish.
Stills, Smith earn more honors
Stills and sophomore safety Tykee Smith were named to Sporting News’ All-America First and Second Teams, respectively, on Tuesday.
Stills, the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and All-Big 12 first team honoree by the coaches and the AP, was named a first-team All-America selection by Associated Press, USA TODAY, Bleacher Report and ESPN and second team by The Athletic. Smith, an All-Big 12 first team selection by the AP, was named to Pro Football Focus’ first team All-America squad the AP All-American third team.
Stills became the first Mountaineer to earn Sporting News All-America first team honors since David Sills was honored in 2017, and is only the second defensive lineman in school history (Bruce Bosley, 1955) to earn first-team accolades and is the 13th Mountaineer to earn first-team honors.
He and Smith mark only the second set of WVU players to earn a spot on one of the two teams since 2006 (Dan Mozes — first team, Steve Slaton — first team) and are the 17th and 18th WVU players to earn a spot on the Sporting News team in school history. Smith is the fourth WVU player to earn All-American second team honors (Ryan Stanchek — 2007, Garin Justice — 2005, Brian Smider — 1988).
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