West Virginia received a commitment from one of the nation’s top dual threat quarterbacks on Friday. Chavas said he can put the recruiting process behind him.

With over 15 scholarship offers from several big schools, Rawlins had to narrow down his list and make the choice of where he thought he best fit. That was the Mountaineers.

The Monessen, Pa. native grew up as a big Pitt fan, because his stepfather, Jo Jo Heath, starred for the Panthers.

Rawlins took in one of the Mountaineers’ spring practices and said he fell in love with the offense, how the team practices and just about everything else he saw in Morgantown.

He also had conversations with WVU quarterback Geno Smith. Rawlins believes he is the right fit for head coach Dana Holgorsen’s offense. ….

West Virginia will play current national champion Alabama in the 2014 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome. Chick-fil-A Bowl officials made the announcement Thursday. The Aug. 30 game will mark the first meeting between two schools….

Former Mountaineer fullback Owen Schmitt has is trying out with the Oakland Raiders. He has four years of NFL experience. He spent the first two years of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks and the last two years as a starter with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles chose not to offer Schmitt another contract.

The former West Virginia University fullback is currently an unrestricted free agent.

Schmitt, who became a very popular player with WVU, got a walk-on offer at Morgantown and turned that into a scholarship. He started alongside Pat White and Steve Slaton.

Schmitt was eventually a fifth-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft by the Seahawks. When he was given an opportunity in Philadelphia, he turned that into a starting job….

Speaking of WVU football, the school has said sales of season tickets for football are outpacing last year. So far, fans have requested more than 25,200 renewals, up from about 23,600 a year ago. WVU officials say that Joining the Big 12 seems to have excited fans and may be fueling sales. Last season’s big Orange Bowl victory probably also carried over the excitement….

Gonzaga had to travel across the country in order to play and beat West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament last March. It looks like the Mountaineers will return the favor.

AD Oliver Luck said that West Virginia is working to schedule a regular-season game with the Zags in Spokane, Washington next season.

WVU is already scheduled to play Purdue on the road, Michigan in Brooklyn and Virginia Tech at home, in addition to an 18-game Big 12 schedule that will include two games each against Kansas, Baylor, Texas and Kansas State.

(Kyle Lovern is the sports editor for the Williamson Daily News. Comments or story ideas can be sent to klovern@williamsondailynews.com)