Carter, West Virginia wide receivers looking to refine skills

Devin Carter transferred into West Virginia for more opportunities in the passing game and if the opener is any indication those should be there moving forward.

Carter finished the Penn State game with 6 grabs for 90 yards, but that could have been even better had the Mountaineers been able to execute the passing game in critical situations, according to Neal Brown.

“Thought Devin Carter showed up and was really productive. Probably could have caught a couple more and got over 100,” the fifth-year head coach said.

Carter, who spent five seasons at North Carolina State, was productive during his time with the Wolfpack hauling in 118 catches for 1,906 yards and 10 touchdowns.

But the belief was that there were chances to take an even bigger step forward given the platform that the Mountaineers could provide. That is largely due to the significant turnover in that room and chances to carve out a role immediately.

The graduate transfer understands that while the offense showed flashes in the passing game, the Mountaineers didn’t make enough plays in crunch time which ultimately cost them the game. Even against the Nittany Lions Carter can’t help but think he left some out there on the field.

Moving forward, the focus for Carter is to establish himself in the blocking game and make even more plays down the field. He hauled in a 37-yard pass to set up a touchdown in the first half, but given his size and speed was brought in to be a consistent presence in that department.

The Mountaineers also must continue to develop in the realm of wide receiver blocking, something that was an issue at times in the opener. But that is often a process and in the instance of Carter it is something he typically has to feel out and improve over time.

In order to take the next steps with the wide receiver room and quarterback Garrett Greene, the program needs to just continue to practice and over time that comes with repetition. Especially when it comes to making those plays down the field with the ball in the air.

“I really just feel like that feeling comes when the ball is in the air. You get the play call from the sideline, and it can go to me or other multiple guys. When the ball is in the air, we’ve just got to make the plays,” he said.

It’s often said that the biggest jump is made from the first to second week and overall, the pass-catching battery believes that will be the case for this team as well. There were some encouraging things in the sense that the offense wasn’t sloppy and didn’t have many procedural issues but must move forward.

“Just talking about cleaning things up. Whatever we had wrong going in that game just clean up the little things,” Carter said.

Now, it’s time to put their foot on the gas and go.

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