Five things to look for in the Gold-Blue game

1. Is Will Grier legit and worth all the hype?

Mountaineer nation has long awaited for the day Grier suits up in the blue and gold. Since the news of Grier’s transfer last April, the expectations have been sky high for the redshirt junior and former Parade Player of the year. Fans have a reason to be excited for Grier’s arrival as his talent, caliber and stats through his six games as a starter at Florida is something that hasn’t been seen at West Virginia for awhile. Grier impressed as a scout team player this past season and at spring practices as well, earning some high praise from his coaches and teammates when it comes to his skills, work ethic, and leadership. Obviously his performance today will not dictate how his season will go, but it could give us a brief preview for what may be on the horizon for the West Virginia offense.

2. How will the defensive line respond after graduating last season’s starters?

One of the biggest questions and concerns going into this spring was West Virginia’s defensive line. The Mountaineers will have to fill the vacancies of their front three in Darrien Howard, Christian Brown and Noble Nwachukwu. West Virginia has a lot of youth when it comes to the defensive line and so far defensive line coach Bruce Tall has been repping with eight different defensive lineman in spring practices. On National Signing Day, Tall said that he was excited the competition this spring amongst the the defensive linemen and that competition will continue on Saturday. As of now, redshirt sophomore Adam Shuler, redshirt senior Xavier Pegues and sophomore Reese Donahue make up the three-man defensive front on the first team defense. Shuler and Donahue are the most experienced defensive lineman on the team so it makes sense that they’re on the first team, but it’s the nose guard spot that seems wide open. With Tall saying that that there’s no gap between the starters and backups like last season, it expresses the idea that any dominant performance by any of the eight defensive lineman today could shake up the current spring depth chart.

3. What will the receiver position look like?

West Virginia has some big shoes to fill at receiver with the departures of Shelton Gibson and Mr. Reliable, Daikiel Shorts. The Mountaineers still have plenty of talent at the receiver position, but remains a concern is the lack of experience returning as well as depth. Right now, sophomore Marcus Simms and juniors Jovon Durante, Gary Jennings and David Sills look to be the primary receivers for West Virginia on the first team offense. All of these players have showcased a lot of talent, but will have to develop more consistency moving forward. When it comes to depth, Holgorsen stated a couple weeks ago that he needed more bodies at receiver as players like redshirt senior fullback Elijah Wellman began taking temporary reps at receiver in order to fill the void. Depth won’t be as big of an issue once the injured Ka’Raun White is officially cleared for contact. Early enrollee Tevin Bush has also been repping at receiver and serves as another option. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital's installation of a tight end in the offense could also affect targets and reps. Today’s spring game will give us an idea of whether or not Shorts and Gibson are irreplaceable and perhaps which receiver will be targeted the most.

4. Will there be an early enrollee or underclassmen that will standout the most?

There are a number of underclassmen that have already caught the attention of coaches and players. There are two that have stood out the most in running back/wide receiver Tevin Bush and safety Derrek Pitts, both are early enrollees. Bush racked up over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in his senior year at Landry-Walker High School in New Orleans and has impressed this spring with his versatility. That versatility has allowed him to take reps at second team running back and punt returner. Bush has also been taking reps at receiver may see some time this fall at inside receiver. His speed, skills and versatility will put on display this afternoon for Mountaineer nation to see and it could be the start of something special for West Virginia’s potentially new offensive playmaker and breakout star. Pitts on the other hand was born and raised from the state of West Virginia and didn’t have to travel too far to get to Morgantown. The Charleston native has been taking reps at Bandit on the second team defense and continues to earn praise from safeties coach, Matt Caponi for his progression throughout spring. Like Bush, Pitts is expected to see playing time his fall and his performance today could potentially start his road to becoming West Virginia’s next top defensive player.

5. Who will step up and emerge as the leader(s) of the team?

Holgorsen stated in this past Tuesday’s press conference that he’s unsure of the team’s chemistry and leadership at this time. Leadership was the foundation of last season’s success, with senior leaders in Skyler Howard, Tyler Orlosky, Daikiel Shorts, Rasul Douglas and among others. The difference between last season and this upcoming one is that most of the seniors last season were in their fifth year and this year, transfers make up most of the senior class. Holgorsen also said that it’s his job to develop those leaders as well as the team chemistry that makes this group want to play and fight for each other. As of now, one emerging leader seems to be Grier based off the praise he’s received from the coaching staff. He’s someone who the team rallies around and will be the voice of the offense, replacing Howard, Orlosky and Shorts from that side of the ball last season. Other players such as senior running back Justin Crawford and redshirt senior linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton may also emerge as leaders. Today will give us the opportunity to see which players are rallying the troops and becoming the voices and mentors of the team.