West Virginia freshmen impress, the future is even brighter
Neal Brown is excited for the future when it comes to three of his freshmen. But that doesn’t mean they didn't make their impact felt this past season.
The trio consists of running back Jaheim White and wide receivers Traylon Ray and Rodney Gallagher.
White carried the ball 97 times for 792 yards an average of 8.2 yards per attempt. The breakdown on the field 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 to make an even bigger impact on the field.
“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 had at least one catch of at least 28-yards over the past five games of the season, some of which were highlight reel grabs including the 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the Duke's Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina.
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 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 hauled in eight of his ten passes for 65 yards while carrying the ball 8 times for 32 yards as the Mountaineers made it a point to get him the ball in space.
Gallagher displayed the ability to make people miss and get upfield, 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 in order for him to take the next step.
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 needed each of these players down the stretch this past season there’s no question that their best football is ahead of them.
That makes this key for many reasons.
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