Future eligibility no issue on WVU’s senior day

On Tuesday, Neal Brown wasn’t sure how many of his West Virginia football players would walk on senior day.

Amid the COVID-19 season last year, all college players were given an extra year of eligibility, and while that measure was generally received positively, it has put college rosters this season in an odd state. Many of those listed as seniors on the roster technically could return for one more year.

Brown’s philosophy is to let the players decide how they want to handle things for Saturday’s home finale against Texas. If they want to walk out on the field with their parents at Milan Puskar Stadium Saturday and be recognized as a senior, that’s fine with Brown. If not, that works, too. He also emphasized that those who opt to be honored Saturday have not necessarily made a decision to leave the program this offseason or return to Morgantown.

Basically, it’s all still up in the air.

Linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo, however, left no room for interpretation Tuesday. Asked directly if this would be his last home game, he confirmed that it would be, then added that he didn’t really considera return for a fifth year.

“I’m after an ultimate goal, personally and team-wise,” Chandler-Semedo said. “I’ll probably reflect on it in about a month or so, on really what it was and what it means tome.”

It is impossible to ignore all the things a senior football player has gone through in the past four years, both with regards to West Virginia and the college football landscape asa whole.

Chandler-Semedo committed to play for former coach Dana Holgorsen, before his departure and the hiring of Brown after Chandler-Semedo’s freshman season in 2018. He said he has had six different position coaches over his time in Morgantown.

Then there’s the pandemic, which robbed him of a normal junior season last year. Name, image and likeness laws have gone into effect to allow players to make some money, and the transfer portal has thrown college football into a dimension of quasi-free agency.

Essentially, these four years have brought more than what Chandler-Semedo originally signed up for, but he has made it this far.

“It’s crazy. I mean, the one thing that’s consistent is football and the game and your teammates,” Chandler-Semedo said. “You’ve kind of got to lean more on that. I remember saying that after the coaching staff changed. I came to West Virginia to play for my teammates. I didn’t necessarily come to play for coaches. So I’m playing for the fan base, I’m playing for my teammates. So that’s been the most consistent thing. It kind of keeps you more level and trying not to focus on everything on the outside.”

With that, the only thing on Chandler-Semedo’s mind is the final two games of the season. First is Texas, which has the name-brand value of an elite program but is coming off a loss to perennial Big 12 Conference doormat Kansas. The Jayhawks are the final opponent on WVU’s schedule.

A couple of wins would bring West Virginia to 6-6 on the season with a bowl game to follow, putting a bow on what has been an otherwise topsy-turvy season. So yes, Saturday will mark Chandler-Semedo’s final appearance in the Mountaineers’ home stadium, but no, he isn’t quite sure how he will feel about it when his time to be acknowledged arrives.

He does say, no matter how he feels at the time, he’ll have to turn around and get ready to play a game 20 minutes later. That’s OK with him, because it’s important to finish the year strong.

“I’m still in that same mindset,” Chandler-Semedo said. “We have two very winnable games, two games we should win. So if we don’t get that done, then I don’t really know what else to do. But I’m not even thinking in that mindset. These are two must-win games that we, again, should win.”