Emmitt Matthews Jr. has been to the Atlanta Hawks Summer League roster.

The former West Virginia University forward spent last season with the Hawks’ G League affiliate, College Park Skyhawks. He made 30 appearances with 14 starts and averaged 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, including producing a season-high 13 points against the Maine Celtics, two games after snagging a season-high eight rebounds.

Matthews spent his first three seasons at WVU and averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game during that span before transferring to his home state and joined the University of Washington Huskies where he averaged 11.7 and 4.7 rebounds per game in 32 starts.

The Tacoma native returned to Morgantown for his final year of eligibility and helped guide the Mountaineers back to the NCAA tournament, averaging 10.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

West Virginia has seen some great quarterback play over the years, specifically since the turn of the century. Who was the best at the position since 2000? We rank the top five below.

Note: Garrett Greene is not eligible due to being an active player.

I had a difficult time putting Marshall at No. 5 rather than No. 4. Between he and the next guy, it was splitting hairs. Marshall walked so Pat White could run. From 2002-04, he compiled a 16-4 record against Big East opponents and was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year in 2004. In addition to throwing for 43 touchdowns in his career, he scored another 24 with his legs.

During his playing career, you probably would have never thought he’d land on a list like this. But when you look at the overall production and record as a starter, he’s absolutely worthy of this ranking. Howard was not the most refined passer by any means, but his grit and toughness go unmatched. In my opinion, Howard is still under-appreciated. He’s one of just four quarterbacks to lead WVU to a 10-win season in the last 31 years – Jake Kelchner, Pat White, and Geno Smith being the others.

Grier may not have won 10 games like the previously mentioned Howard, but the two schedules he played against were significantly tougher than what that 2016 group saw. Plus, Grier had the Mountaineers ranked as high as No. 6 in the AP Top 25 poll in 2018 and were one win away from appearing in the Big 12 Conference championship game. Like the next guy on this list, he put up video game numbers. 7,354 yards and 71 touchdowns in two seasons is insane.

The best pure passer in school history? You could make a case for Grier or Marc Bulger, but it’s Geno for me. His program record 11,662 yards and 98 touchdowns may stand the test of time. A true generational talent and one that we may never see in Morgantown as far as throwing the ball is concerned, completing 67.4% of his passes for his career.

With all due respect to the others on this list, none of them are even in the same stratosphere as Pat White. He not only helped put West Virginia back on the map, but he had the Mountaineers on the doorstep of a national championship appearance in 2007. It blows my mind to this day how he never finished higher than sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. White led the golden era of Mountaineer football. Had he arrived a few years later he would have been considered a surefire first-round pick.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston is hinting at new initiatives to be introduced in the months to come that will focus on driving behaviors and training state residents years before they get behind a wheel.

“These are going to be dealing with–we call them–the behavioral issues, the way we operate our vehicles on the highway. That’s the critical part of this,” Wriston said during a recent edition of the WVDOT’s “On the DOT” podcast.

Wriston said there have been good initiatives over the years backed by the Governor’s Highway Safety Fund and various police agencies who have spent extra time trying to slow drivers down but it’s time for a culture change when it comes to driving.

“We have to start young. We have to build the education up on how to drive, that’s all there is to it. How you do this and not get killed,” he said.

MORE 2023 Governor’s Highway Safety Program Annual Report 

According the 2023 Governor’s Highway Safety Program Annual Report, there were 207 traffic fatalities in West Virginia after nine months of last year. The state ended the 2022 colander year at 266 fatalities. Motorcycle fatalities were also up according to the latest annual report.

The report also said, “Pedestrian fatalities are a growing concern in West Virginia. These fatalities decreased from 36 to 21 between 2021 and 2022, but the five-year rolling average exceeded the target.”

The report listed a significant increase in deadly crashes of those not wearing seatbelts from 77 deaths in 2021 to 147 deaths in 2022.

Wriston said it’s time for an all-out effort to address the issue of driving behavior.

“This is serious. A mistake out there on that highway takes a minute and bad things happen quickly but the results of them can last a lifetime,” Wriston said. “We’ve got to really attack this and we’ve got to stay committed to it.”

Wriston predicts results.

“We’ve really focused on safety, particularly in our work zones, now we are committed,” he said. “We’re going to get results. We are going to take fatalities on our roads to zero. We’re going to make sure when accidents happen, when crashes happen, people have a better chance to survive.”