WVSports.com: West Virginia Q&A Mailbag
WVSports.com takes your questions and provides the answers in our mailbag feature.
What's on your mind with the West Virginia teams or recruiting?
We tackle it and provide you with the answers.
Any more basketball players?
I think if the season would start today, West Virginia could proceed with the way the roster is currently constructed. The Mountaineers have 11 scholarship players and head coach Darian DeVries has already expressed confidence in the group. But there are still areas where this team can be improved and the good news is that the season does not start today. The Mountaineers still have two open scholarships to play with and while DeVries has gone on record that they simply won’t fill them just to do it, the program does still need some more help in the front court for example.
West Virginia has been actively looking at options there to help bolster what is already on the roster but finding a talented big in the transfer portal is no easy, or cheap endeavor. The Mountaineers also can look at late high school, junior college or overseas possibilities and my best guess is in the end you see at least one more player added to the roster before the season begins.
Hearing anything on future football schedules?
West Virginia is booked through 2027 and then in 2028 has only a neutral site contest against Tennessee. That will likely be filled out with an FCS home game and a group of five contest in Morgantown to fit the scheduling model that both athletic director Wren Baker and head coach Neal Brown have talked about at length. Pittsburgh comes back on the schedule from 2029-32 and that will likely serve as the only power five out of conference matchup over those four years. In 2029, the Mountaineers will also host Ohio while in 2030 FCS program St. Francis comes to Morgantown.
West Virginia is making an effort to get that Pittsburgh series extended even further and hopefully that becomes an annual contest as long as the two teams aren’t in the same league. As far as the conference is concerned, the opponents from 2024-27 are already known.
I do think it’s safe to say that the Mountaineers are going to get away from playing two power four opponents each year as they’ve done in five of the last six.
When do the players “report” for fall camp?
The first day of fall camp will be July 31 and we should get an interview with head coach Neal Brown as is customary. But the actual schedule has not been released yet, although I do expect it will be similar to what we’ve seen the past couple years with interviews rotating between Brown, assistants and players and then some open practice sessions to observe the action for around 45-minutes.
Do you see us running any 20 or 21 personnel to get Donaldson and White on the field at the same time?
It’s definitely something that they’ve talked about quite a bit as a way to get them both involved and have even done it at times. The coaches trust both of them in pass protection as well as their ability to catch the football so that wouldn’t be an issue either in order to get them in those looks. At this point, I’d be surprised if this isn’t something you see as a way to utilize both their skill sets. It’s all about playing to the strengths of the roster and both of the lead backs can effectively handle two-back.
Who’s your surprise player this year that steps up?
My pick for this initially was going to be Josiah Trotter but I think the secret is already out on him. Trotter would have had a standout freshman campaign if he wouldn’t have been lost for the season and is line to make a massive impact on the defense this coming year.
So, my next pick would be Ayden Garnes, the cornerback transfer from Duquesne. Garnes has been with the program since January and hasn’t been somebody that has received a lot of the attention at the cornerback position but is going to end up playing a significant role there. Garnes has the versatility to move around to multiple spots and I predict will be a starter on one side.
When we get to midseason who are our starting receivers?
I don’t think it’s going to matter who goes out there first because the coaching staff wants a rotation at the position that can allow them to be rested. Still, if I had to take a stab at the starters my best guess would be Traylon Ray, Hudson Clement and Preston Fox. However, you’re going to see others such as Jaden Bray, Justin Robinson, Rodney Gallagher and DayDay Farmer have major roles, too.
I could easily see Bray as a starter as well, but those would be my picks today.
So we play Pitt, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Cincinnati and Texas Tech on the road this year. Who can we beat?
There's not a team on that list that West Virginia can't beat. Now, will they is the question? The Mountaineers should be or close to a road favorite in several of those match ups on paper but the trips to Oklahoma State and Arizona will be very challenging on top of a rivalry match up with Pittsburgh even if they aren't expected to be as strong on the field this coming season.
It felt like last year the coaches played more aggressively to play to win. They had to win last year or be gone. Will they stay aggressive or revert to trying to bleed the clock with a three point lead?
I'm not necessarily sure it was a different approach just more that the Mountaineers have a clear cut identity and have fully bought into that on the field. There is more trust in what quarterback Garrett Greene brings to the table as well so there is more confidence in letting him do what he does best. There should be even more trust this coming year with Greene's second full season as the starter and I expect that to continue to lead to the coaches being aggressive with offensive play calling.
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