When it comes to the West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver room the most consistent player this spring might end up being a surprise to many.

Isaiah Esdale is entering his third season with the football program and has developed into one of the most consistent players in that entire room. Two seasons in a row Esdale has emerged at the end of the season after overcoming various injuries that limited his presence early in the year.

In 2019, he caught the game winning touchdown against TCU and last season he caught 11 of his 12 total passes over the final month of the season.

Now, fully healthy throughout spring he is looking to make the most of his senior season.

“Since I’ve been here this has been the most consecutive practices in a row,” head coach Neal Brown said. “He battled some minor injuries in fall camp the last couple years and he’s came on at the end.”

The Delaware native has been running with the first team unit in spring practice and could settle in there as he has quickly become one of the most consistent pass-catching options on the roster. In fact, those around the program would say he has displayed the best hands of all the options in that room.

“He probably has the best hands. I always give him a hard time; he has the best hands other than me on the team. But he catches the ball really, really well,” Brown said.

Esdale has shown versatility by playing primarily in the slot during his first season with 96.2-percent of his snaps there, while moving outside for 71.4-percent of his snaps his second season. It’s a limited sample size with only 217 snaps between the two seasons but it does showcase his ability to move around and play wherever he is needed at the wide receiver spots.

Because of moving around so much in his career, Esdale knows all four wide receiver spots and can mix and match to wherever he is needed on any given play. He has been effective at all three levels in limited usage catching three of six passes over 20+ yards down the field and 21 of 25 attempts short.

The moment is never too big for him as Esdale displayed matching that game-winning catch against the Horned Frogs during his first full season and he doesn’t worry about who he’s going against.

“He says even keel which is something you don’t see out of receivers as often as you do other positions,” he said.

Now, considering his full bill of health and understanding of the scheme, Brown believes that Esdale is ready to take that next step in his career.

“He had a great off-season. He’s strong, he’s the strongest in that room as well so I think that he has put himself in position both mentally knowing all four spots and physically making plays that he’ll be out there in the mix this fall,” he said.

The Mountaineers were need to find consistency at that position across the board and perhaps Esdale will be one to provide it.

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