CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Student drone pilots from Charlottesville High School beat out 60 teams from 13 states over the weekend for top honors at an aerial drone competition.

Two others set individual world records.

The West Virginia Robotics Alliance Aerial Drone Competition tested students’ ability to pilot a drone.

The student-run science club is called BACON, which stands for “Best All-Around Club of Nerds.”

BACON took the top two spots in the skills competition.

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Sources close to Senator Joe Manchin, a mainstay of Democratic politics in West Virginia, say he is being encouraged to run for governor.

Two sources confirmed that the outreach comes from Republicans who oppose the GOP nominee for governor, Patrick Morrisey. One source said at least 20 Republicans with financial resources have reached out to Manchin, who was governor from 2005 to 2010.

“Many Republicans who believe Manchin did a good job as governor previously are encouraging him to run again,” one of the sources said.

Manchin has made no decision, but also he has not dissuaded the conversations. The frequent swing vote in the U.S. Senate decided he would not run for re-election to that seat and then spent time considering whether he would run on a third-party ticket for governor before deciding against that too.

The state Republican Party provided a statement indicating full support for Morrisey’s campaign against the Democratic nominee.

“The WVGOP is united squarely behind Patrick Morrisey for Governor. West Virginians are excited to continue our Republican victory streak by electing him as our conservative voice in the Governor’s mansion this November!” stated Matt Herridge, WVGOP chairman.

The only Democratic candidate in last week’s primary election was Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. So at this point, Williams would face Morrisey in the general election.

Fundraising and statewide name recognition will be challenges for Williams between now and the November election. The most recent filings with the West Virginia secretary of state show the Williams campaign with $30,418 cash on hand. Morrisey’s campaign had $685,276 on hand at the conclusion of the most recent filing period.

One scenario being contemplated is to wait a few weeks and take a poll to see how Williams is faring in the race. If Williams is not doing well then it could open an opportunity for Williams to step aside and Manchin to run.

At this stage, none of this has been discussed with Williams.

Williams, in a telephone interview today, was aware of the talk, but he characterized it as an unlikely scenario.

“Joe Manchin has not given me any indication that there has been any conversation along those lines. Secondly, he contributed to my campaign in the primary. He is committed to contributing to my campaign in the general, and we have had several conversations since election day” Williams said.

“Unless Joe Manchin is the most duplicitous person on the face of the earth, which I don’t believe he is because he’s been a friend for over 40 years now, I don’t see that these rumors have any legs.”

Asked about the scenario on Friday’s MetroNews’ “Talkline,” state Democratic Party spokesman Mike Plante described the possibility as a longshot.

“If that isn’t bad news for Patrick Morrisey, I don’t know what is — the fact that leading Republicans with deep wallets are looking at these kind of contingency plans,” Plante said.

Plante continued, “I think this is wishful thinking on the part of some Republicans who are deeply and bitterly opposed to Patrick Morrisey.”

Morrisey, a three-term attorney general, lost to Manchin by three percentage points in the 2018 race for U.S. Senate. 

Morrisey was in a competitive four-way race for governor. He won with a plurality, 33% of the vote — coming in ahead of former House Judiciary Chairman Moore Capito’s 28%, Huntington businessman Chris Miller’s 20% and Secretary of State Mac Warner’s 16 percent.

Morrisey’s campaign, reached today, pointed toward a recent social media post by Morrisey that described a sense of unity in the party. The post said he had “good conversations with Moore Capito, Chris Miller, Mac Warner, the Governor, our Board of Public Works Candidates, and many others.”

“My opponents and the BOPW nominees were quite gracious. It’s now clear we will all pursue our common goal of electing Republicans in November and advancing conservative values,” Morrisey wrote.

Morrisey’s campaign during the primary race frequently said he is “not a product of political royalty” and that “the media and political elites are against me.” Capito is the son of Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Miller is the son of Congresswoman Carol Miller and Warner’s brothers have been active in government and GOP politics.

Asked for her reaction to Morrisey’s win during a briefing last week, Capito spent some time talking about her son’s loss and then described her excitement that incumbent Gov. Jim Justice had won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, where he is heavily favored in the general election.

Capito did not mention Morrisey’s name in her response and said, “I am the leader of the Republican Party and will be supporting the Republican ticket, so let’s just see what happens in November.”

Governor Justice had endorsed Moore Capito for governor, saying he could continue the trajectory of the current administration. Asked last week on “Talkline” about Morrisey’s victory, Justice said he would support him.

“Patrick and I are friends. You know, I absolutely wanted Moore to get across the finish line. But Patrick’s the man across the finish line. I’ll support him 100 percent. I think the world of him and Denise. They’re good people, and I just want good stuff for ’em. We move on, you know.”

West Virginia finished the season 9-4 in 2023 and it is a big year for the football program for many different seasons.

So WVSports.com takes a look at just how much the Mountaineers have set to return in 2024 in regard to both snaps and production on the offensive side of the ball.

So, what do the Mountaineers have coming back?

–West Virginia will return 15 of the top 20 players from last season on offense in terms of snaps played last season. That list includes No. 2 OL Brandon Yates (794 snaps), No. 3 OL Wyatt Milum (753 snaps), No. 4 QB Garrett Greene (738 snaps), No. 5 TE Kole Taylor (704 snaps), No.6 OL Tomas Rimac (690 snaps), No. 9 WR Traylon Ray (452 snaps), No. 10 OL Ja’Quay Hubbard (432 snaps), No. 11 RB CJ Donaldson (426 snaps), No. 12 WR Preston Fox (423 snaps), No. 13 OL Nick Malone (417 snaps), No. 14 TE Treylan Davis (381 snaps), No. 15 WR Hudson Clement (370 snaps), No. 16 RB Jahiem White (275 snaps), No. 17 WR Rodney Gallagher (269 snaps) and No. 18 QB Nicco Marchiol (206 snaps).

–The Mountaineers will not have No. 1 OL Zach Frazier (806 snaps), No. 7 OL Doug Nester (663 snaps), No. 8 WR Devin Carter (498 snaps), No. 19 WR E.J. Horton (165 snaps) and No. 20 WR Cortez Braham (151 snaps).

–West Virginia will return all of the 2,674 yards that were thrown by quarterbacks will return for the 2024 season. That is a significant difference than the 20-percent the year before between redshirt junior Garrett Greene and redshirt freshman Nicco Marchiol. It goes without saying that all 18 passing touchdowns will be back.

–The Mountaineers rushed for 2,976 yards this past season and the bulk of that is set to return with only Justin Johnson exiting through the transfer portal and vacating 38 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown and DJ Oliver leaving the team vacating 12 carries for 47 yards and a score. As for the rest of the running back room, 1,787 of the rushing yards will return and perhaps even more importantly 30 of the 32 rushing touchdowns on the season will be back in the backfield.

Related: Exploring the remaining areas of need for West Virginia football

–The rushing production at quarterback also was significant in 2023 with Greene rushing for 772 rushing yards and Marchiol with 133 yards. That is due back.

–The Mountaineers only had 1,981 receiving yards at the wide receiver spot but will return 1,243 of that with the only significant loss being Devin Carter (501 yards). That percentage is even better with 9 of the 12 touchdowns due back.

–Tight end will return all of the production in each category at tight end with Kole Taylor returning as the leading receiver with 35 catches for 444 yards and tied for the team lead with 4 touchdowns. Treylan Davis was used more as a blocker but brings 2 catches for 2 yards. That means all 37 catches for 446 yards and 4 scores will be back.

–The only spot that is hit with significant departures is on the offensive line as West Virginia will lose Frazier and Nester, two players who accounted for 1,469 snaps and started every game that they were healthy. But behind them, the Mountaineers bring back quite a bit with a combined 3,086 snaps combined set to return.

–You don’t replace players like Frazier and Nester easily, but the Mountaineers are coming off a season where the offensive line permitted just 10 sacks and the new group allowed just 35 pressures on the season.