Six West Virginia football players with major opportunity in 2020

West Virginia is set to begin the 2020 football season in the coming weeks and we take a look at six players on the roster that will have plenty every opportunity to become big piece of the puzzle for the Mountaineers.

That is those players that perhaps have yet to truly cement their place on the depth chart, but have the chance to make big wave this coming fall.

Redshirt junior quarterback Jarret Doege

This one is obvious after Doege impressed during his four-game stint on the field after transferring from Bowling Green. Doege already had plenty of experience starting at the group of five level but is now competing to be the full-time starter for the Mountaineers this fall. If he wins that job, Doege is going to have the keys to the offense which gives him as much upside as anybody on the roster heading into the 2020 campaign. Of course, you could make the same argument for Austin Kendall, who started nine games in 2019, but for now we’ll go with Doege.

Junior running back Leddie Brown

Brown led West Virginia in rushing in 2019, so why is he on this list? Well, that total was only 367 yards as the offense struggled to generate any consistency on the ground. Brown has shown flashes in his two years with the program, but he now will be the most experienced option in the room after the departures of Kennedy McKoy and Martell Pettaway. Despite being a “big back,” Brown has plenty of versatility to be used as a pass catcher or in different fashions making him a candidate to possibly breakout if the chips fall right. This backfield could be Brown’s once the season begins but it will be up to him, and a consistent blocking effort to cement that.

Redshirt sophomore tight end Mike O’Laughlin

O’Laughlin became the leader of the tight end room down the stretch last year, but still was never able to truly make a significant impact at the position. Some of that could be directly attributed to the fact he was only a redshirt freshman, but he finished the year with 6 catches for 24 scoreless yards. With Jovani Haskins now gone and inexperience at the position surrounding him, O’Laughlin could be primed for a much larger role this coming year. Will that mean he becomes a major threat in the passing game? Perhaps not, but a stronger, more mature O’Laughlin will bring more balance to the offense in the rushing and passing elements.

Redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Junior Uzebu

This is an interesting choice when you consider that Uzebu only played nine snaps last season but those are the only returning snaps that the Mountaineers have from an offensive tackle. The Georgia native has taken some time to develop but now will have every opportunity to lock down the left tackle spot heading into the fall. Uzebu is going to have to battle redshirt freshman Brandon Yates, and potentially others, which could knock him from this list but all indications are he has played well and is ready to step into a role this fall. The development of the tackles will be one of the most highly watched areas of the pre-season and Uzebu taking advantage of the opportunity in front of him would go a long way toward answering those concerns.

Redshirt junior linebacker Vandarius Cowan

Perhaps no player on the entire roster’s debut was more anticipated than that of Cowan last season. The Alabama transfer had to sit out during his first season and then was tagged with a four-game suspension to open this past year. Once that was over, he appeared in only two games before injuring his knee and missing the remainder of the season. Cowan certainly physically looks the part at linebacker and showed flashes in his brief stint on the field but now it is time for him to make good on his billing heading into Morgantown and become a factor in that room. His development will be a potential game-changer for the defense.

Redshirt junior cornerback Dreshun Miller

If this seems like déjà vu it’s because well it is. The junior college all-American was expected to play a major role in the West Virginia secondary last season before a knee injury cost him the entire season. Granted, things ended up find with Keith Washington and Hakeem Bailey playing the best football of their careers but Miller missed on some valuable experience to prepare him to step into one of those vacant spots. The emergence of Nicktroy Fortune down the stretch certainly helps, but if Miler can play up to his potential at his size it helps to answer one of the biggest lingering questions on the defensive side of the ball at cornerback. There is a lot of optimism that Miller can do just that which gives him a ton of opportunity heading into this season.

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