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Mountaineer players mum on team’s opener with Virginia Tech

MORGANTOWN — If coaches, players or fans of the Virginia Tech football team are expecting to hear anything from longtime rival West Virginia that they can use as ‘bulletin board material’, they should think again.

“I really don’t want to talk about Virginia Tech,” senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton explained. “I know that it is one of the greatest rivalries in the country and I know that the atmosphere for that game will be great. But, that’s all I am going to say about it.”

The two border state rivals met 51 times between 1912 and 2005. They played as conference foes from 1991 to 2003 as members of the Big East Conference. They met every year from 1973 to 2005. The Black Diamond Trophy is the trophy that goes to the winner of the game. It was introduced in 1997 and was meant to symbolize the Appalachian region’s rich coal heritage (the phrase “black diamond” is often used as a term for coal.)

Virginia Tech held the trophy in six of the nine years in which it was contested, but West Virginia leads the series 28-22-1. The last game was played on October 1, 2005, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Virginia Tech won that game by a 34-17 margin.

“Yea, as soon as it was announced a lot of my friends and classmates began talking about it,” sophomore offensive lineman Colton McKivitz said. “I’m from Ohio, but I could tell just how much that game means to people from West Virginia.”

The meeting will be the first since 2005 and the only time it has been played at a neutral site. This year’s contest will be played on Sunday, Sept. 3rd, at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL – FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

“Great venue,” explained senior defensive back Elijah Battle. “Great place to play. Virginia Tech is a great team with great coaches and great fans. But, you can say the same about us.”

On July 3, 2013 the two schools announced that the series would resume with a home-and-home series beginning on September 18, 2021 in Morgantown and concluding the next year on September 24, 2022 in Blacksburg. Also, on July 15, 2014, the two schools announced a neutral site game at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland will be played on September 2, 2017. The future of the Black Diamond Trophy was uncertain following both schools’ move from the Big East. Virginia Tech has confirmed that the Black Diamond Trophy will be up for grabs in the 2017, 2021, and 2022 games.

Both teams come off solid 2016 seasons, but with holes to fill prior to their season-opener.

West Virginia finished third in the Big 12 (10-3, 7-2 Big 12) and posted its most wins since his first season in Morgantown in 2011 – WVU posted a 10-3 mark, won the Big East title and beat Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

In his first season in Blacksburg, Virginia, former-Memphis head coach Justin Fuente orchestrated a Hokies’ squad to a 10-4 mark, a spot in the ACC championship game and a 35-24 win over the SEC’s Arkansas in the Belk Bowl.

Fuente and defensive coordinator Bud Foster lost a number of solid players following the season. Safety Chuck Clark was one of four players selected in the NFL Draft. Tight end Bucky Hodges and running back Sam Rogers joined Clark in the sixth round while wide receiver Isaiah Ford went to Miami in the seventh round. Five others – defensive tackle Woody Baron, running back Trey Edmunds, defensive end Ken Ekanem, offensive tackle Jon McLaughlin and defensive tackle Nigel Williams – were offered free agent contracts.

WVU also suffered losses through the draft as cornerback Rasul Douglas and wide receiver Shelton Gibson were picked during the draft while nine others were awarded free agent contracts.

The Mountaineers’ biggest hole was apparently filled last week when the NCAA declared that former-University of Florida quarterback Will Grier will be eligible to play when the two teams meet.

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