WVSports.com looks at the weekly press conference from West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and determines the five most interesting topics of discussion.
We examine what was said as well as what it means for the football team both this week and moving ahead as the Mountaineers navigate the 2019 schedule.
1—The injury situation. It seems we’re leading off this weekly now with this subject but again, West Virginia has been hit by the injury bug at several different spots. Redshirt junior quarterback Austin Kendall left the game against Iowa State with what was best described as a ‘chest injury’ and his status is currently up in the air with Brown making it clear that the plan is that he will not play unless he is indeed 100-percent going into the game. That won’t be determined obviously until later this week but for now it’s safe to say that his status is very much a wait and see situation.
The same goes for redshirt senior cornerback Keith Washington who missed the week before against Iowa State due to a muscle injury and is again considered iffy to see the field against Oklahoma. With fellow senior Hakeem Bailey already missing due to being ejected in the second half due to targeting if Washington can’t go it’s going to thrust freshman Tae Mayo directly in the spotlight.
Perhaps no player had more anticipation surrounding his debut than redshirt sophomore bandit linebacker Vandarius Cowan, a transfer from Alabama who certainly looks the part. But a four-game suspension delayed things and now after two games the ride is over at least for this year. Cowan injured his knee against Iowa State and is set to undergo surgery that will sideline him for the rest of the year. Just another ding to a team that has had a lot of them already.
2—Martell Pettaway is going to redshirt. It was already expected last week after Brown addressed the media following the loss to Iowa State but it is now official as the plan is for West Virginia to redshirt the senior running back after appearing in four games to this point and only 82 offensive snaps over that span. During his four games, Pettaway only carried the ball 27 times for 72 yards which can be attributed to some struggles up front as well as some hesitation on his part.
This makes sense for a number of reasons for the program as Pettaway ironically gets to utilize a rule that was largely created due to situations that he had to endure during his freshman season. That year his redshirt was pulled after sitting out the first ten games of the year due to injury concerns that forced him on the field.
Now, four years later he is going to be able to recoup that season and give the Mountaineers another experienced option in the backfield moving forward next year. The good news here is that if there is one spot West Virginia has quality depth it’s at running back and Pettaway should be able sit out without any issues there as the roster still includes Kennedy McKoy, Leddie Brown and Alec Sinkfield while even freshman Tony Mathis could be used for four games later on as well.
It not only provides another experienced option in the backfield next year but allows the Mountaineers to not have to spend a scholarship on the position to replace two different senior backs in the recruiting class and instead use it elsewhere that needs might be greater. It’s a move that makes sense all around both for the player and the team and serves as some poetic justice for Pettaway himself.
3—Bush leaving. The ride for junior Tevin Bush has been an interesting one this year going from breakout star of the first game with 4 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown to not even seeing the field for any offensive snaps the past two games. Brown had said that a nagging foot and heel issue had been the primary culprit along with the Mountaineers electing to go big against Texas. In the end however, that breakout campaign will be all of one game as Bush has elected to put his name in the transfer portal to look for an option closer to home. This way the junior will be able to preserve a year of eligibility and find another destination to finish out his college career.
This decision was made after Bush sat down with Brown after what the head coach described as a ‘tough few months.’ In his career, Bush finished with 24 receptions for 319 yards and 2 scores while also rushing for 195 yards over the span. He always was an interesting fit given his size but now Bush is going to be moving onto Morgantown to find a destination for his final two years.
4—What happens at quarterback? As we mentioned above, the status of starter Austin Kendall remains very much up in the air and that means that there are a number of possibilities in play here as we approach the trip to Oklahoma. The easiest and simplest of the lot is that Kendall does indeed play after throwing the ball around and providing he can handle the workload as he recovers. That one is a straight line and cuts out any need for adjusting to what is currently happening. But what if he can’t play?
Well that’s where it can get interesting. Brown said he felt redshirt junior Jack Allison gave him the best chance of success entering the game against Iowa State mid-way but if Kendall can’t go this week they are going to have a plan in place on how to attack things. He stopped short of saying what that plan will be but did indicate that regardless who gets the nod, they are going to prepare the starter with the reps needed to avoid a situation where they’d have to scale back the game plan again like what happened when Allison was thrust into the game a week ago. It’s interesting in the sense that Brown didn’t address who his starter would be if Kendall didn’t play because it opens the doors for several possibilities with other options on the roster. I’m not sure if Jarret Doege is ready to see the field given his recovery from off-season surgery but could we see a mixing and matching of Allison and Lowe?
Regardless, we won’t have to wait too long to see what will happen there.
5—More freshmen will play. West Virginia already has played seven true freshmen this year and that number nearly doubles when you include redshirt freshmen. Well, it’s safe to say before the end of the year you’re going to see even more as the Mountaineers look to get some of those young players on the field and take advantage of the new redshirt rule at the same time. That rule affords players the chance to play in as many as four games and still maintain a year of eligibility so with the Mountaineers as banged up as they are across the board you can expect that it’s going to be utilized.
Brown plans to redshirt Tae Mayo but he has a chance to start this week at cornerback given the issues that are unfolding with the starters and the plan is to continue to work in other players such as defensive lineman Jalen Thornton, linebacker Jared Bartlett and perhaps even offensive linemen.
This is a young team that is going to have to grow up while being thrown into the fire but the good thing about those freshmen moving forward is that they will eventually become sophomores. They’re going to take lumps at times this year but the long term gain will be worth it especially when they can preserve a year of eligibility while getting them into football games in the process.
WATCH: Musings from the Mountains | West Virginia Football | Episode 32
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