Bye week brings opportunities for West Virginia freshmen
Bye week brings opportunities, which is certainly the case for the true freshmen on the roster.
West Virginia will practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and the Mountaineers plan to get a good look at several players that are competing for time on the field.
“We got to see if some guys are ready. This is a big week to test some guys out,” head coach Neal Brown said.
In the secondary, the Mountaineers are going to get an extended look at a pair of true freshmen in cornerback in Key’on Washington and safety Israel Boyce. Those two have played better in practice and Brown believes that each have the ability to help in the defensive backfield if they prove capable of doing so.
Another position that is in a similar situation is at running back as Brown wants to see what two true freshmen in Traevon Dunbar and Diore Hubbard can do with an extended look. Those are talented options but have to showcase the ability to do more than just carry the football such as pass protection and lead blocking.
“We need to get those guys work because I can see us needing them as we get going,” Brown said.
Defensive lineman Nate Gabriel played 15 snaps against Kansas and should continue to play a larger role as the season continues to evolve. He was originally planned to see a role as the season developed but the injury to Edward Vesterinen put that on the fast track.
“He got good push and gave us the ability to play Hammond into the boundary more,” he said.
Another true freshman that West Virginia is looking to see take a jump is Elijah Kinsler on the defensive line because the Mountaineers are going to need him to step into more snaps given the depth there. Makai Byerson is still battling through injury and learning to play at this level which means a likely redshirt.
West Virginia has gotten true freshman wide receiver DayDay Farmer into the game, but the Mountaineers need to see more consistency there and haven’t been able to get him going. However, the coaching staff recognizes his talent and believes that he can help as he continues to develop.
One of the surprises of the true freshmen has been tight end Jack Sammarco has he has been an above-average blocker that has been getting reps and should continue to do so.
“He’s been the pleasant surprise of that class,” Brown said.
As far as the rest of the true freshmen, Khalil Wilkins isn’t expected to play this season but has shown some real talent, but it will require some patience as he needs to improve fundamentally and understand what defenses are trying to do. But Brown has seen him in practice, and he will eventually be a problem given his ability to run and what he has shown on the scout team.
“He has some wow plays that go both ways. ‘Wow, that’s really good or wow that’s really bad’,” Brown said. “But he’s really talented.”
Along with Farmer, West Virginia also has two other true freshmen wide receivers in Brandon Rehmann and Dom Collins, and both are still needing to develop along with the freshmen offensive line.
At linebacker, Curtis Jones is playing on special teams, while Rickey Williams is a player that Brown believes could be a high-level player that gets downhill and is strong. As far as the rest of the defensive backs, Keyshawn Robinson has played a role on special teams and the same can be said for Zae Jennings, but he is still learning how to be more effective on the defensive side of the ball.
But each of these players are going to have the chance to come in and make a move up the depth chart given the fact that there’s a lot of work to go around.
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