West Virginia has its potent ground game back, and if reinforcements on a leaky defense help avoid some of the embarrassments from a year ago, the Mountaineers could make some noise in the Big 12 Conference this season.
West Virginia finished third in the Bowl Subdivision at 229 yards on the ground per game despite not having a 1,000-yard rusher. Jahiem White averaged 7.7 yards per carry as a freshman and compiled 842 yards, most of those in the final month of the season.
White understands his goal should be surpassing those numbers behind a veteran offensive line, coach Neal Brown said.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement, but he can do a lot of things,” Brown said. “There’s not a whole lot of people talking about him. He’s flying under the radar.”
Running back CJ Donaldson, a 240-pound junior, has made a similar impact but has yet to play a complete season due to injuries, missing West Virginia’s bowl win over North Carolina last season and sitting out five games in 2022.
West Virginia went 9-4 a year ago, by far its best under Brown, after being picked last in the Big 12. The Mountaineers are tapped to finish seventh this time as the league expands to 16 teams while losing Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC.
“I’m fired up about this group,” Brown said. “Probably as excited as I’ve been.”
Greene’s accuracy
Brown has made it clear that mobile quarterback Garrett Greene needs to be more accurate. The senior was last in the Big 12 with a 53% completion rate last year.
That might have been the only downside for Greene, who averaged 201 passing yards, was the league’s top rushing QB at 64 yards per game and finished with 16 passing and 13 rushing touchdowns.
“I think Garrett’s got a chance to be elite,” Brown said.
Brown expects a group of young wide receivers, including sophomore Hudson Clement, to make big steps and they’ll be joined by transfers Jaden Bray from Oklahoma State and Justin Robinson from Mississippi State.
No hot seat
For a change, Brown doesn’t have to fend off questions about his job performance. The sixth-year coach received a one-year contract extension in March that includes a $400,000 pay cut over the next three seasons. That enabled the school to boost the salaries of its assistant coaches, a priority for Brown.
But Brown is 31-29 overall, has lost three straight season openers and has a tough one this year, at home Aug. 31 against No. 8 Penn State.
Defending the pass
The secondary needed shoring up after the Mountaineers allowed 26 TD passes, most in the Big 12. That included a 49-yard Hail Mary pass on the final play in a loss at Houston. Departed all-American cornerback Beanie Bishop and safety Marcis Floyd combined for half the team’s pass breakups. Also gone is leading tackler Lee Kpogba at linebacker.
Linebacker Trey Lathan returns from a season-ending leg injury. Safeties Aubrey Burks and Anthony Wilson will be joined in the secondary by cornerback transfers Ayden Garnes (Duquesne), Garnett Hollis Jr. (Northwestern) and TJ Crandall (Colorado State).
West Virginia defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said having a deeper lineup this season will allow for more player rotations “so that if there’s a performance lapse in a quarter, in a half, or in a game, we’re kind of going to be ‘next guy up’ as opposed to waiting until the next game to make some changes.”
Unhappy returns
West Virginia allowed kickoff touchdown returns of 96 and 93 yards in the same quarter to Baylor’s Richard Reese as well as a 100-yard return to Houston’s Matthew Golden. No other Bowl Subdivision team allowed three kickoff TD returns last season, and the Mountaineers’ average of 25.2 yards allowed per return ranked 125th out of 130 teams.
The schedule
The Mountaineers have seven home games for the first time since 2016, including pivotal league matchups Sept. 21 against No. 22 Kansas and Oct. 19 against No. 18 Kansas State. West Virginia is 10-18 on the road under Brown and has key games Sept. 14 at Pittsburgh, Oct. 5 at No. 17 Oklahoma State and Oct. 26 at No. 21 Arizona.
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