Neal Brown is excited for the future when it comes to three of his freshmen. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t making their impact felt in the meantime.
The trio consists of running back Jaheim White and wide receivers Traylon Ray and Rodney Gallagher.
White was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after rushing for 204 yards and a touchdown to go along with a 75-yard scoring reception. That play was the longest of the year for the Mountaineers.
White has carried the ball 80 times for 659 yards an average of 8.2 yards per attempt. It coincided with White understanding how to practice and translating that over into more opportunities on the field.
But this off-season should be critical when it comes even further developing his skill set.
“He’s not really tall but he’s strong and he’s compact and breaks tackles. He’s really shifty,” Brown said. “This off-season is going to give him more straight-line speed.”
Ray didn’t even arrive in Morgantown until late June as he closed out his baseball season but has become more critical in the wide receiver rotation of late. He has at least one catch of at least 28-yards in each of the past three games, some of which were highlight reel grabs.
The Florida native is an outside wide receiver and while he has shown plenty of flashes, has a very high ceiling in the future as he continues to refine his body at this level.
“He’s going to be a different guy. He will probably put on 10 pounds and get faster. He has a chance to be an elite outside wide receiver,” Brown said.
Gallagher, a prized recruit in the 2023 class, has seen his snaps and involvement on offense continue to increase. Since the Houston game, Gallagher has hauled in six of his eight passes for 58 yards while carrying the ball 8 times for 32 yards as the Mountaineers have made it a point to get him the ball.
Gallagher has shown the ability to make people miss and get up field, but his off-season will be dedicated to increasing his strength and expanding his route tree. Because he played quarterback in high school that isn’t something he was asked to do a lot, but that will be critical.
It’s something that Gallagher himself is aware of as well.
“When he understands route running and gets stronger he has a chance to be special,” Brown said.
West Virginia needs each of these players down the stretch and into bowl prep but there’s no question that their best football is ahead of them. That makes this off-season key for many reasons.
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