If the West Virginia offense is going to take a step forward, there needs to be a solution to some of the production lost from last season in the wide receiver room.

The Mountaineers return only 47-percent of the 228 receptions from a season ago and 48-percent of the total 2,852 yards leaving a lot of room for players to emerge.

Some of that can be remedied by the expected upgrade under center with Georgia transfer JT Daniels taking the reins of the offense, but pass catchers are going to have to emerge in short order.

The off-season brought some seismic changes to the makeup of the wide receiver group with three of the top five pass catchers exiting the program by means of the transfer portal. That includes inside wide receiver Winston Wright (Florida State), outside wide receiver Sean Ryan (Rutgers) and dependable option Isaiah Esdale (Rice). That’s not only a lot of production, but experience exiting the roster.

There are two obvious solutions on the roster in experienced wide receivers Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Sam James. The pair came into the program during the 2018 season and have experienced their shares of ups and downs, although both seem primed to make a much-needed leap.

Ford-Wheaton appeared in 12 games last season, starting 9 of those, and finished second on the team with 42 catches for 575 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has shown flashes of his potential in the past and with his size and the addition of Daniels there is room for him to meet those expectations.

James started six games last season and appeared in every game while finishing with 42 catches for 505 yards and 5 touchdowns. It was a bounce back campaign after a down 2020 that followed a very productive redshirt freshman campaign where he led the club in catches and yards.

Beyond those two, the most interesting option on the roster is sophomore Kaden Prather who has all the makings of a breakout at the position. The 6-foot-4, former four-star prospect was limited to only 309 snaps a season ago which resulted in only 12 catches for 175 yards. But with an entire off-season in the program there are expectations that he is ready to become a serious factor at the position.

There are six other scholarship wide receivers on the roster to round out the pass catchers currently with a mix of sophomores Jeremiah Aaron, Reese Smith and juniors Cortez Braham to earn a larger role. Another option could be spring game standout Preston Fox who earned a scholarship after impressing throughout the course of the 15-practices. The other two are freshman Jarel Williams and another former walk-on turned scholarship option in Graeson Malashevich and both have had their moments.

The junior college options are intriguing considering both are going to need to help right away and early returns are both Aaron and Braham bring a different level of speed to the room.

While not wide receivers, the tight end group also could see more targets with a healthy mix of both pass catching options and true blockers on the roster.

If spring is any indication, new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell isn’t going to be afraid to dial up shots down the field and that means that the position needs players ready to emerge.

It’s a new cast of characters for the most part, but the first three along with the other parts around them could make this one of the more surprising units on the roster.

But potential only goes so far and if that is going to happen some of these options have to be prepared to make the next step.

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