West Virginia doesn’t return a lot at the wide receiver spot but there are some players that are back and competing for time in the room this spring.
Two of those names that have certainly made an impression are Rodney Gallagher and Jaden Bray.
Gallagher is coming off a sophomore season where he hauled in 26 passes for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns but also spent time on the defensive side of the ball. That won’t be a focus moving forward and he is looking to take a step forward at the inside wide receiver spots.
A former four-star prospect out of high school, Gallagher is a player that current wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett was well aware of when he was at Jacksonville State.
“I actually reached out to him, but I found him in a clip of him playing basketball. I like receivers that are athletic and play a lot of other sports,” he said.
Now, Garrett has the opportunity to coach Gallagher after making the move to Morgantown and has been impressed with his overall skill set.
“I’ve been impressed with his spring with his ball skills. I think when we go back and look, he’s shown the ability to make some plays down the field,” he said.
But after spending his high school career at quarterback and bouncing back and forth between spots, Gallagher is still learning how to play the position but has taken definite strides to the point where the coaching staff believes that he is going to be able to play all four spots in the scheme.
But perhaps most impressively is his character as Gallagher has bought into the new coaching staff without question and has been willing to do anything he can to make the adjustment smoother.
“He’s working hard. It’s been good to see and hopefully he can continue to develop and really, really help us this year,” Garrett said.
Another player who is looking to make a leap now in his second year with the program is Bray. The Oklahoma State transfer was a player who was expected to play a major role in the rotation a season ago but missed most of the season due to an injury and finished with just two catches for 88 yards, all of which came in the first three games of the year.
Bray is another player that Garrett is pushing and trying to give him every opportunity given the current state of the wide receiver room and the need for outside options to emerge.
And so far so good as Bray as the coaching staff has taken notice of his effort in practice.
“He's a guy that has been really exciting to work with. He comes with a great attitude every day. I think he is excited right now for his opportunity. You know, he's another guy that coming in as a new coach, he didn't give any push back,” Garrett said.
Right now there are no starters set in the wide receiver room and that has allowed for open competition between all the pieces on the roster. But like Gallagher, Bray has made an impression with how he has worked in the time that Garrett has overseen the room.
“I think when your talented guys are your hardest workers and they're the most coachable, then to answer your question, that helps the young guys and that helps the rest of the room,” he said.
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