Mountaineers get help from transfer talent

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — West Virginia’s first fullteam practice of training camp Saturday featured fans in the bleachers and plenty of enthusias mon the field.

“They’re eager,” offensive coordinator Gerad Parker said. “Soreness will begin to set in and all that fun, but as of now, they’re eager, they played fast, made plenty of mistakes but yet did them fast, and had great attitudes and played with great effort.”

The Mountaineers opened camp Friday with a splitsquad

Head coach Neal Brown elected to integrate split-squad practices into camp after growing to appreciate them when they were used as an added safety measure for COVID-19 last year. After Friday’s practice, he emphasized the benefits of involving more players.

“Those guys are out there for a shorter amount of time, but we get more total reps and our young guys, it really helps them because they get one-onone coaching,” Brown said, adding that the team will continue to have such workouts.

Developing depth is always a focus of fall camp, but two of the Mountaineers’ position groups with additional scrutiny are receivers and defensive backs, which stirs competition during drills.

“The level of play goes up on both sides of the ball, so therefore everybody either rises up with it or you kind of get left behind,” Parker said.

Parker added that he would ideally like to have six receivers ready to see the field, especially during September games with hotter temperatures. As of right now, it appears those game-ready receivers will include a good balance of veterans such as redshirt junior Bryce FordWheat on and younger players like freshman Kaden Prather.

On the line

One of the biggest questions of camp surrounds the offensive line. The answer could start with Doug Nester, who transferred from Virginia Tech and is settling in at guard.

“He’s an extremely humble guy, and he wanted to make sure that he earned his spot,” Brown said Friday of Nester. “We bounced him around a lot at different positions, and I thought he was more confident today.”

At 6 feet 7 and 321 pounds, Nester brings experience to the unit. In recent years, West Virginia has been plagued with rushing woes, especially late in games. The 2020 season marked a substantial improvement from 2019, as the Mountaineers averaged 3.8 yards per carry, up from 2.6 yards per carry two years ago.

Brown has stressed the importance of that trend continuing in 2021.

In Leddie Brown, the Mountaineers have a talented running back but have struggled to create opportunities for him at times. A stronger offensive line likely will help change that.

Transfer help

Nester isn’t the only talent from the transfer portal to hit the ground running. On the otherside of the ball, offseason additions include linebackers Lance Dixon (Penn State) and Deshawn Stevens (Maine), and defensive lineman Darel Middleton (Tennessee).

“A lot of times, there’s no greater attribute than experience ,and sometimes it doesn’t matter the level,” defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said.

He added that he hopes and thinks the defensive transfers will all contribute this season. The transfer class also got depth in the secondary with Charles Woods, an Illinois State transfer, and Caleb Coleman from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.

Other notes

• Last year, in Brown’s second season at the helm, the Mountaineers were 6-4 (4-4 Big 12 Conference). In Brown’s first campaign, they finished5-7 (3-6).

• As expected, Garrett Greene seems to have a strong hold on the backup quarterback role. “Garrett’s just picking up from spring where he left off,” Parker said. “Now he’s got a stronger knowledge ofall that we’re doing.”

• After sustaining a serious knee injury last season, kickerEvan Staley was able to participate in the opening practice.

• According to Brown, freshman running back Jaylen Anderson hasn’t arrived due to “clearinghouse things.”