At a fundraising function as part of the Crimson Caravan event in Alabama on Wednesday night, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban released a bit of information about the potential matchup.

West Virginia University deputy director of athletics Mike Parsons said that some details still needed to be finalized before any official announcement was made, but that the game was ” in the works.” This matchup would be the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game for the 2014 season and would be played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

A quick check of the WVU non-conference schedule for 2014 shows road games against Maryland and East Carolina and a home game with FCS opponent Towson. The Big 12 schedule for that season would include the same road and home opponents for WVU as on this year’s slate.

According to Casazza, a WVU source confirmed that the school will try to get out of the game against ECU for that season in order to play the Crimson Tide.

West Virginia and Alabama have never played in football. The Mountaineers have a 14-18-1 all-time record against teams from the SEC with their last win coming in the 2008 season against Auburn. WVU has also played just one game in the Georgia Dome – a 38-35 victory in the 2006 Sugar Bowl against the SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Owen Schmitt (right) will play for the Silver and Black in the fall

Former WVU fullback Owen Schmitt has signed a contract with the Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders announced the signing after holding a workout with the former Mountaineer on Tuesday. Schmitt is expected to be the starting fullback for the team and will likely be the lead blocker in the back field for Oakland running back Darren McFadden.

He is entering into his fifth season in the NFL and has played the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In his career, Schmitt has played in 51 games with 12 starts. He has nine rushing attempts for 27 yards and 34 receptions for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Schmitt was drafted in the fifth round (163rd overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

Skai Moore

Fort Lauderdale University School linebacker Skai Moore has trimmed his list of potential schools to just five, and the five schools that made the cut are Mississippi State, Rutgers, South Florida, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.

The list of other schools that offered include Cincinnati, Houston, Illinois, Louisville, Ole Miss and Nebraska. He’s also receiving heavy interest from Florida State and Miami.

Moore is another extremely athletic and versatile 3-star prospect from the state of Florida. A converted wide receiver, the 6’2″, 205 pounder has the speed and quickness to stay with just about anybody in space, and has shown a rare knack for being around the football. As a junior, in what was his first season at linebacker, he recorded 49 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He’s still a little raw at the position, but coaches and scouts think he has unlimited potential.

Moore has the frame to put on weight and play linebacker in college, or he could drop back to the next level and play one of the safety positions. One thing is for sure, you can never have enough speed and versatility on the defensive side of the ball (especially in the Big 12), and Skai brings plenty of both.

Nick Internicola

He will be looking to use one of his official visits on a trip to Morgantown during the summer or the fall.

West Virginia has also offered his high school teammate, and close friend Nick Internicola (6’3″, 230). Both have admitted that they would love to go to the same school, but they don’t consider themselves a package deal. They’ll both make the decision that is best for them. West Virginia and South Florida are the only two schools in Moore’s top five that have offered both of them.

There are no timelines for either of their decisions.

Check back with GBZ for more WVU sports and recruiting updates!

Skai Moore Highlights

Nick Internicola Highlights

Opara is a 6-foot-4, 275 pounder who holds offers from Connecticut, Maryland, Temple, West Virginia and others. He is also being  recruited by Florida, Miami, Georgia Tech,  Kentucky, Louisville and South Florida among others.

The rising junior recently named West Virginia as his leader after receiving a phone call from co-defensive coordinator Joe DeForest. The 3-star prospect really didn’t even have the Mountaineers on his radar, and was completely surprised when they offered him in late April. Now just a couple weeks later he has the “Old Gold and Blue” sitting at the top of his list.

Opara is obviously attracted to WVU because of the success on the field and the upcoming move to the Big 12, but the fact that he has relationships with seveal current Mountaineers doesn’t hurt either. He is a former high school teammate of Korey Harris, and also knows fellow Jacksonville natives KJ Myers and Andrew Buie.

Opara is a big kid that plays with a nasty streak. He really comes off the ball and uses his hands well to get off blocks. His height can be a slight disadvantage for him at times as an interior d-lineman, but as long as he stays low it shouldn’t be a problem for him.

Kingsley has already visited Georgia Tech, South Florida, Miami and Florida. He plans to take a trip to Morgantown during the fall. There is no timeline for his decision.

Check back with GBZ for more WVU sports and recruiting updates!

Kinglsey Opara Highlights

The West Virginia rifle squad is perhaps the most consistent program at the university on a year-to-year basis. The team is usually ranked among the top 10 teams in the country and is a regular qualifier for the NCAA Championship, and this year’s group was no different.

The Mountaineers were ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation this season and finished the year with a 12-2 overall record, while going 5-1 in the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC). The only two losses of the season came to Kentucky and TCU who were nationally ranked second and first at the time, respectively.

Despite finishing in sixth place at the NCAA Championship, WVU junior All-American Petra Zublasing secured the 2012 NCAA individual air rifle title with a 696.2 combined score. She finished second in air rifle at last season’s championship behind former WVU teammate Nicco Campriani, making her the second consecutive Mountaineer to win air rifle in as many years. Zublasing also is the 16th WVU individual national champion of all-time.

Zublasing was named to the National Rifle Association (NRA) smallbore and air rifle All-America first teams and was selected as the 2012 GARC Shooter of the Year.

The WVU Rifle team won the 2012 GARC Championship on February 26 and has now won the title each of the last three seasons. West Virginia is the only program to have ever won three consecutive titles in GARC history. It also achieved the same feat during the 1998-2000 seasons.

Along with the great team success on the season, WVU was led by several other student-athletes. Senior Justin Pentz was named a smallbore and air rifle second team All-American. Senior Michael Kulbacki was named to the air rifle second team along with freshman Meelis Kiisk. Fellow freshman Thomas Kyanko was given the GARC Rookie of the Year award. In addition, head coach Jon Hammond received the NRA Distinguished College Coach award, making this the second time in his six-year coaching career at WVU in which he has been awarded the honor.

Although the college season is complete, team members are still competing throughout the summer. Petra Zublasing and former Mountaineer Nicco Campriani have both earned the right to represent their home country of Italy at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Head coach Jon Hammond, a native of Scotland, is still attempting to become a member of the Great Britain team for the Games of the XXX Olympiad.

The WVU rifle team will be the only athletic team at the university which will not be affected by the move to the Big 12 conference. The Big 12 does not offer rifle as a sport, so therefore WVU will be remaining a member of the GARC.

Stay tuned to GBZ for more WVU season recaps!

Former WVU linebacker Najee Goode has signed a four-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Goode was drafted in the fifth round as the 140th overall pick, and recently took part in the Bucs rookie mini-camp. He is being looked at as a middle or strong side linebacker in Tampa’s defensive scheme.

Goode was a versatile player that played all of the linebacker positions during his time at West Virginia. Hopefully that versatility will be one of the things that helps him beome a successful pro.

Najee tied a school record with 52 total games played and finished his career with 157 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He was named first-team All-Big East as a senior.

Goode joins Keith Tandy as the second WVU player to sign a four-year rookie deal with the Bucs.