Winston Wright certainly made his first kickoff return count.

The true freshman hadn’t even appeared in the returner role until an injury to Kennedy McKoy forced him into the role against Baylor.

That’s counting times he's even lined up back there, forget actually attempting a return. So in his first opportunity, Wright answered some questions about himself and for the team as a whole.

But in the week leading up to the game he was elevated to the second team. Once he was inserted as the returner, it was simply letting his speed do the talking.

The Georgia native a former track athlete got up to 20.5 miles per hour as he took the ball and dashed up the right sideline on his way for a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown. It was the first of his career.

“When I caught the ball we just practice pushing vertical to set the return up and when I saw the hole I just hit it,” he said. “When I hit the hole everything else just fell into place.”

It might have been the first return in his career, but there is little doubt after that debut that it isn’t going to be his last as the coaching staff has cemented him as the starter there for the remainder of the year. And it only highlights an issue that head coach Neal Brown has referenced that while those opportunities have been blocked well, they haven’t been able to spring any due to the returners.

The longest return of the year to that point had been 39-yards so naturally, Wright’s efforts weren’t lost on the coaching staff moving forward. Moving ahead, the Mountaineers have now found their solution.

“We just haven’t done a very good job in the return game and obviously we just didn’t pick the right guy. Winston got it, took the first to the house and obviously he’ll be the kickoff returner for the rest of the year,” Brown said about the situation.

It was the first kickoff return that Wright had executed in a game since his days at high school, but outside of the speed of the game there wasn’t much difference. It came down to simple principles.

“Just trust it and hit it when you see it,” Wright said.

The Georgia native has always taken pride in that aspect of the game and now is getting a chance to do it at the highest level while continuing to develop at his role at inside wide receiver.

But there is no doubt what is the biggest strength of his game, as his return displayed.

“My speed. That’s the best thing I’ve got,” he said.

WATCH: Musings from the Mountains | West Virginia Football vs. Texas Tech Preview

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