Saturday Blitz
Fansided

West Virginia Football: 5 breakout candidates for spring 2019

By Phil Poling

MORGANTOWN, WV - OCTOBER 06: Jovani Haskins #84 of the West Virginia Mountaineers dives into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown after catching a pass against the Kansas Jayhawks in the second quarter of the game at Mountaineer Field on October 6, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - OCTOBER 06: Jovani Haskins #84 of the West Virginia Mountaineers dives into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown after catching a pass against the Kansas Jayhawks in the second quarter of the game at Mountaineer Field on October 6, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next

There’s tons of excitement surrounding the West Virginia football program, and these five breakout candidates only add to the spring hype.

First-year head coach Neal Brown takes over for West Virginia football at an odd time in the program’s history. For starters, Brown is replacing Dana Holgorsen, who’s second all-time in wins at WVU. It’ll also be their first year in the Big 12 without Holgorsen and his Air-Raid attack that fit the league so well.

The familiar names from the 2018 season won’t be back for Brown’s first campaign, either. Quarterback Will Grier, wide receivers Gary Jennings and David Sills, and linebacker David Long all moved on to the NFL. And while losing those players hurts, there are plenty of guys ready to step up in their absence.

We’ve seen it countless times in Morgantown, too. A virtual unknown stepping up, carving out a role, and then excelling in that role and becoming a house-hold name.

RELATED: Best individual performances under Dana Holgorsen at WVU

Dravon Askew-Henry. Al-Rasheed Benton. Skyler Howard. Gary Jennings. David Sills. These are all guys who earned every snap they took at WVU. Who will step up in 2019 and be mentioned among these former Mountaineer standouts? There are plenty of interesting prospects on the team, but these five have breakout potential.

Home/West Virginia Mountaineers