West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and his football team will enter a bye week but there is still some movement largely when it comes to the availability of players on the roster.
On the positive front, the Mountaineers will now have the services of Alabama transfer Vandarius Cowan. His four-game suspension is now up and he will be eligible to play at the bandit spot in the Mountaineers defense.
West Virginia has dealt with depth issues at that spot and the infusion of the talented linebacker could help as he is expected to immediately be thrown into the mix to compete.
“He’ll get heavily evaluated during this bye week and leading into the Texas game,” Brown said.
The prognosis for starting right guard Josh Sills is expected to be delivered at Brown’s press conference later today after he said he would provide an update on the weekly Big 12 Conference call. Sills was one of two returning starters up front and has missed the past two games with injuries.
In Sills absence West Virginia has rushed for 172 and 193 yards in large part because of the program being more physical on the perimeter with blocking as well as better communication up front and more decisive cuts from the running backs.
Two players that haven’t played this year are cornerback Dreshun Miller and linebacker Charlie Benton and Brown addressed the status of both players. When it comes to Miller, a former junior college prospect that enrolled in the spring, he is currently rehabbing after a surgery.
His return to the field could be a boost to the defense as senior cornerbacks Hakeem Bailey (285) and Keith Washington (269) have played the most snaps on the entire unit.
“We’ll probably know more about what his status is this season in the next week or so,” Brown said.
As for Benton, he is coming back from an injury last season to his knee and is available but simply has not been called upon to be in a game yet.
West Virginia is now 3-1 on the season entering the bye week after going on the road and beating Kansas despite not playing its best football game.
“We’re a group that’s going to get better as we go,” Brown said.
West Virginia will have this weekend off before hosting Texas Oct. 5 on what has been announced as a 3:30 p.m. kickoff with the game set to be televised by ESPN or ABC.
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