Freshmen WRs have opportunities in West Virginia WR room

West Virginia only signed two high school wide receivers this past season but both are going to have their chances to make a dent in the depth chart.

The Mountaineers signed both Rodney Gallagher and Traylon Ray this past year and while it's never a sure thing that freshmen will be able to step into an immediate role the program certainly has needs for players to emerge there.

One of the key recruits in the most recent recruiting class was Gallagher.

The Uniontown, Pennsylvania product was a focus by the Mountaineers coaching staff in the 2023 recruiting class and that interest dated back several years.

The coaches made it clear that Gallagher was going to be one of the top priorities in the class and hosted him on over a dozen visits during that time.

“Rodney was probably as integral of a recruit as I’ve had in my tenure,” head coach Neal Brown said.

While he was from Pennsylvania, Brown and the coaching staff essentially treated him as a local recruit and turned up the heat from early on in the process in his recruitment. That work eventually paid off as the Mountaineers were able to secure his pledge May 25 prior to his senior year.

The commitment gave West Virginia a major win on the recruiting trail over programs such as Penn State, Notre Dame, Texas, Oregon and Pittsburgh among a long list of others.

Gallagher spent time as both a quarterback and wide receiver during his senior season accounting for over 2,000 total yards of offense and 28 touchdowns but was always destined to play receiver in college.

Ray on the other hand was less heralded but an impressive player in his own right. The 6-foot-3 wide receiver played on both sides of the ball for North Florida Christian, racking up 1,236 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his 12-game senior season. That was following a massive junior campaign when he amassed 1,366 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns over 11 games.

Ray first visited Morgantown July 29 and then followed that up with an official visit to campus for the Towson game. It took a few months, but he would formally commit to the Mountaineers over Tennessee and Mississippi State.

"He's long, has really good ball skills. He’s natural. He's highly intelligent," Brown said.

But unlike some of the players in their recruiting class, Gallagher and Ray elected to hold off on enrolling at the mid-term to finish out other sports.

his standout basketball career at Laurel Highlands. It’s a hoops career where Gallagher topped 2,000 career points showcasing his abilities on the hardwood and ultimately the decision to close out his hoops career was encouraged by his future football coach Brown. For Ray, it was the baseball diamond that kept him from arriving until late June.

That forced both to miss spring practice and kept them behind the eight ball. That’s obviously a challenge – but not one that can’t be overcome.

Gallagher and Ray were able to use Mike Joseph with the strength and conditioning program to provide a workout for them to follow in the off-season

That gave them an idea of what is necessary from a development perspective with a focus on not overwhelming them as they tried to prepare their bodies for the next level.

And things took a step even further once they arrived on campus in the beginning and end of June to hit the ground running with the football program. Gallagher has since added 12-pounds to his frame and has impressed with his willingness to block and be physical, while Ray has certainly looked the part as well.

"He’s smooth. I like him. He’s going to be a player," Brown said.

The blocking aspect is key for Gallagher because he wasn't asked to do that in college, while Ray had some advantages playing in a similar offense in his high school.

Now, it's up to them to prove they can take advantage of those opportunities.

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