West Virginia Football: 5 bold predictions for October 2019
By Phil Poling
2. Neal Brown will continue finding value in youth
West Virginia football lost a ton of talent from the 8-4 team a season ago, but their young players have done an excellent job of filling those voids. Sam James, who was expected to be a third or fourth option at wide receiver, is now the No. 1 target for quarterback Austin Kendall. He’s been the man since the first game, though, while other underclassmen have stepped up after being called upon.
Three more wide receivers, Temple-transfer Sean Ryan and true freshmen Ali Jennings and Winston Wright, have been given opportunities this season and performed well. Ryan’s totaled 10 catches for 98 yards and carried the ball once for 24 yards on the ground, while Jennings (six catches, 46 yards, one touchdown) and Wright (seven catches for 40 yards) have shown flashes of what the future holds, as well.
We’ve already mentioned a couple of underclassmen in the trenches with James Gmiter and Briason Mays on offense and Jordan Jefferson on defense, but it doesn’t stop there.
The secondary has seen a youth movement, too, with true freshmen Kerry Martin and Tykee Smith getting in-game reps. Exree Loe and Kwantel Raines are the veterans on this list, although they’re just a redshirt sophomore and redshirt freshman. Still, there’s a ton of talent for head coach Neal Brown to mold.
The redshirt rule that allows players to play up to four games while not losing that year of eligibility will come into play at some point, but we’ll see if Brown opts to use it or let these young guys to continue developing.
If he slaps a redshirt on them, all that means is another batch of underclassmen will get an opportunity. Either way, the future looks bright in Morgantown.