West Virginia

Morrisey centers policies focused on ‘WV values’ as he transitions to state’s executive office • West Virginia Watch

Published

1 week ago

November 12, 2024

Morrisey centers policies focused on ‘WV values’ as he transitions to state’s executive office • West Virginia Watch

One week after winning his bid to be West Virginia’s next governor, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Tuesday shared his plans and priorities as he prepares to advance to the state’s highest office.

Helping Morrisey will be a team of seven transition team “co-leaders” who — along with yet-to-be-named members of the full transition team — will assist the governor-elect in creating policy priorities that he says will allow him to get to work on his first day in office. Among those co-leaders is a former coal lobbyist and operator, House Majority Leader Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, and several Republican political operatives, among others.

All members of the transition team are volunteers, Morrisey said. The transition work is being organized through the West Virginia Prosperity Group, an independent nonprofit organization focused on “advocating for conservative values.”

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the West Virginia Prosperity Group was formed as a 501(c)4 nonprofit on Sept. 11 and was incorporated by Scott Will, who previously worked as Morrisey’s campaign manager for his attorney general races. Will also worked as a senior advisor with the Black Bear PAC, a political action committee that spent more than $11 million this election supporting Morrisey’s bid for governor, according to Open Secrets. Morrisey said Tuesday that Will — along with Marisa Findlay, president of the state’s Federation of Republican Women — was working as a consultant for the transition

The goals for a Morrisey administration at this point seem, for the most part, to echo the priorities of his predecessor, Gov. Jim Justice, who is preparing to start his first term as West Virginia’s newest senator.

“I’m looking forward to building on past successes but really also taking some additional steps to really help West Virginia rise in those economic rankings,” Morrisey said. “I’m not satisfied with being 48th, 49th, and 50th. So I think what you’re going to see over the course of the next four years is an aggressive effort to rise in those rankings.”

In the weeks and months leading up to him taking office, Morrisey said he wants to meet with legislative leaders to discuss legislation that could come up in next year’s regular session and, maybe, reach consensus before the Legislature even gavels in.

“We want to develop a common agenda where the governor, the House, the Senate, all come together and we could move a series of bills that might be agreed to up front,” Morrisey said. “I’m excited to do that, and so I’m looking forward to sitting down at great length with them to develop the agenda.”

Morrisey said he wants to see advancements in the state’s economics and commerce through more investment from the private sector, a focus on policies to help the state reach its “energy potential” and efforts conducive to “maintaining West Virginia values,” including defending the Second Amendment and the “sanctity of life.”

“I’ve always been very worried that there were agendas coming out of the Biden-Harris Administration,” Morrisey said.

“You’ve heard the word ‘woke’ before, you’ve heard the word ‘DEI’ before, and those are not, in my mind, West Virginia values, and we’re not going to be an administration that’s going to be advancing those values,” he continued, referring to the acronym commonly meaning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

As attorney general, Morrisey’s office has spearheaded and participated in numerous legal proceedings to limit the rights of and health care access for people who are transgender.

Throughout his time in office, Morrisey has been vocally anti-abortion and critical of policies he associates with liberal ideology. He’s been a proponent for “school choice” educational policies — including the school voucher program, which gives public dollars to private institutions — saying during last month’s gubernatorial debate that he wants to see them expanded in coming years.

On the environment, his office has actively fought against measures to increase environmental regulations that reduce the impacts of climate change and hold companies accountable for the damage their extraction activities cause to communities and public health.

On Tuesday, however, the soon-to-be governor said that he wants his administration to work for all West Virginians, even those he disagrees with and those who have been on the opposing side of or targeted by his legal work. Anyone in the state is invited to submit feedback on the West Virginian Prosperity Group’s website, Morrisey said, and he wants to read everything that is sent in.

“I make no bones about it. I am conservatively oriented, but I like to be open-minded to different ideas and listen to people to try to come up with the right decisions,” Morrisey said. “… we have specific values, and I don’t hide what they are. So I will say that, and if we disagree, I think we could disagree respectfully and we can do so in a civil manner. That’s the approach I try to use, and I’ve always tried that and I think people can have a chance to see that.”

Morrisey’s inauguration will be on Jan. 13. He said that more announcements will be made in coming weeks regarding staffing for his administration, policy priorities and more.

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West Virginia

Score Predictions for West Virginia’s Senior Day Game vs. UCF

Published

2 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Score Predictions for West Virginia’s Senior Day Game vs. UCF

Picking up a win this weekend means the West Virginia Mountaineers are going bowling. It’s been an extremely disappointing season to this point, but WVU can put an end to their woes at home by taking down a UCF team that has lost six of its last seven.

Here is how we see this Saturday’s game going between WVU and UCF.

The challenge doesn’t get any easier this week for new WVU defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz, who will have to gameplan for the nation’s third-leading rusher, RJ Harvey. UCF is and always will be a run-first football team under Gus Malzahn, but they have found an answer at quarterback over the last couple of games with freshman Dylan Rizk, giving them more of a balanced approach.

For the most part this season, West Virginia has had success defending the run. They rank fifth in the Big 12 in run defense and 50th nationally in yards allowed per carry (4.0). Although Rizk opens up UCF’s offense, I still believe Malzahn will want to remain confident in his superstar running back and try to lean on WVU’s front. With less-than-ideal weather conditions expected to be in play, it should keep UCF from wanting to spin it a bunch, which is great news for a weak Mountaineer secondary.

Whether it was the season opener versus Penn State, the Backyard Brawl against Pitt, the Coal Rush game versus Iowa State, or another primetime game against Kansas State, WVU has not handled distractions all that well this season. Senior Day can certainly provide a lot of distractions with all of the emotions that go into it, but I believe Garrett Greene, Wyatt Milum, and Co. will walk out of Milan Puskar Stadium as winners.

I’m going with the Mountaineers in a high-scoring affair.

Prediction record: 6-4.

UCF may have found its footing with quarterback Dylan Rizk – the Knights’ fourth starting QB this season. Rizk has made the last two starts for a team looking to remain bowl eligible. The freshman threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start and nearly pulled off the upset at Arizona State in game two. He’s been efficient in his passes, completing 74.6% of his passes.

The Knights have leaned on an effective rushing attack, ranking third nationally, and lead all Power Four programs, averaging 262.8 rushing yards per game.

Leading the UCF ground game is RJ Harvey. The senior has rushed for 1,328, ranking third nationally, with 19 touchdowns and was named a Doak Walker Award semifinalist for the second consecutive season.

Statistically, the West Virginia defense has been formidable against the run and is second in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game at 126.8. However, last week against Baylor, the Mountaineers nearly allowed the Bears to reach their season average of 5.7 yards per carry, gaining 5.4 yards per rush. UCF is second in the country in runs of 10 yards or more with 86.

West Virginia was unable to keep pace with a surging Baylor offense last week at home and there is no indication they will be able slow the Knights down Saturday. The Mountaineers had an opportunity for a game turning interception against Baylor but what has occurred often with this unit, it was dropped. The defense will have to make plays for this team to win and they did it two weeks ago to steal a win in Cincinnati.

I’m reluctant to pick West Virginia for a multitude of reasons but what has been preached by the coaching staff since the arrival of Neal Brown, the lack of consistency in all three phases of the game, sums it up.

I’m going to go out on a shaky limb this week and pick the Mountaineers. It’s quarterback Garrett Greene’s last home game of his Mountaineer career and I think he will motivate and will this team to a win while the defense will dial up more pressure against a freshman quarterback and force mistakes, but it will not be easy.

West Virginia finds a way to win 27-24.

Prediction record: 6-4.

West Virginia

Who Steps Up for West Virginia at Receiver with Traylon Ray Done for the Year?

Published

11 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Who Steps Up for West Virginia at Receiver with Traylon Ray Done for the Year?

West Virginia’s passing game hasn’t struck fear into the hearts of its opponents all year long, but the Mountaineers lost one of their biggest receiving threats, Traylon Ray, last week in the loss to Baylor.

A Baylor defensive back landed on Ray’s leg on a deep ball in the second half, causing the sophomore receiver to be carted off the field. Over the weekend, Ray underwent a successful surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Prior to the injury, Ray hauled in 28 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns on the season, giving him an average of 15.2 yards per catch. He scored three of his four touchdowns throughout his final four games played and made some big catches deep down the field. He leads all Mountaineer receivers in touchdowns, is second in receiving yards, and third in receptions.

So, how do the Mountaineers go about replacing Ray’s production for the final two games of the season?

“I think similar to when Hudson (Clement) was out. We take a team approach,” head coach Neal Brown answered. “Now, we’re going to miss him. I think that by the time Traylon’s career is done here, he’s going to be a really high-level player, and I really think the NFL is in his future. This is a minor setback. He’ll make the full recovery. It looked bad, but he’s going to make the full recovery, and he’s in good spirits. We’ll miss him.

“But we also got some guys that we can plug and play,” he continued. “Preston (Fox) will take a bigger role. Jarel Williams will play a little bit more on offense. Justin Robinson needs to play more like he did against Cincinnati, not like he did against Baylor. And I believe he will. It will be a committee approach.”

DayDay Farmer is another one who will likely see more action, although he has been splitting reps in the slot with Rodney Gallagher III for the last couple of weeks. While Farmer, Robinson, Fox, Williams, and others may become a little more involved, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll see a significant increase in targets.

Instead, look for tight end Kole Taylor to see a healthy dose of targets in these final two games. Over the last two weeks, Taylor has combined for ten receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. He’ll likely play a big role in the season finale at Texas Tech, but with cruddy weather in the forecast for Saturday, Ray’s absence shouldn’t impact the Mountaineers too much against UCF.

West Virginia and UCF will kick it off at 3:30 p.m. EST. The action can be streamed live on ESPNU.

West Virginia

2026 DL O'Neal talks West Virginia visit, offer

Published

18 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

2026 DL O'Neal talks West Virginia visit, offer

Cleveland (Oh.) Benedictine 2026 defensive lineman Tyrell O’Neal had been in contact with West Virginia for several weeks but made the decision to come to campus to get a first-hand look at the school.

O’Neal, 6-foot-3, 270-pounds, was impressed with the atmosphere overall but was excited when he found out that the Mountaineers were jumping into the mix with a scholarship offer.

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