West Virginia football freshmen must grow up fast
Six games into the season this West Virginia football team is slowly becoming defined almost as much by who’s not on the field than who’s actually on it.
That’s because attrition has been a major storyline to this point whether that be through off-season departures, redshirting decisions or unavoidable injuries.
The Mountaineers of course lost players in the off-season with remaining eligibility such as Kenny Robinson, Marcus Simms, Derrek Pitts and Matt Jones, all of which were projected as starters with major roles. That muddies the water even more than it typically would have been already during a coaching transition.
Then came the decision of JoVanni Stewart to redshirt and leave the program four games into the season, only to be followed by Tevin Bush in order to preserve his two years of eligibility.
As for the injuries, already at this stage the program has lost three projected starters for the season and has dealt with a number of multi-game incidents with other players on the roster. This isn’t even including the bumps and bruises that come with a college football season that have cost players a game.
The end results are a total of 21 players have started their first career games at West Virginia already this season and the program has undergone an unintended youth movement in the process. Halfway through the year, the Mountaineers have played seven true freshmen and a total of 13 freshmen overall have inherited roles on this club on the offensive or defensive sides of the ball.
West Virginia has two freshmen starting on the interior offensive line, a wide receiver and several more at the position in the rotation, a starting spear safety and multiple others in the mix on defense.
That total is likely to grow as well as the Mountaineers could be starting a pair of true freshmen cornerbacks against Oklahoma while also planning to mix in others such as defensive lineman Jalen Thornton and Jared Bartlett as the schedule moves forward. The plan is to try to get those guys onto the field but still maintain their year of eligibility by playing them in four or less games.
Still, with so much youth spread out across the roster and in significant spots, there are going to be some growing pains. The coaching staff certainly understands this but it’s about improvement over time.
“We’d like for it to happen a little faster than its happening but we’re not disappointed,” head coach Neal Brown said.
In the end, this is where the coaches find themselves six games into the season and now it’s on them to try to get the best out of them because ultimately it boils down to simply wins and losses.
“They don’t care how many freshmen you’ve got,” defensive coordinator Vic Koenning said. “Nobody really cares.”
Even with that youth and a schedule which has been one of the most difficult in the nation according to some metrics there have certainly been bright spots. The program trailed only 21-17 and 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter against Texas and Iowa State before being outscored 38-14 in the two games.
That is where the experience could pay off moving forward as the Mountaineers learn to handle those type of situations.
“We’ve just got to get better,” he said.
Getting better and growing up those are the focuses for this West Virginia club as they continue to navigate a difficult October with a pair of undefeated teams on the schedule up next.
WATCH: Musings from the Mountains | West Virginia Football vs. Oklahoma Preview | Episode 33
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