Neal Brown and the Mountaineers are close to taking the field for practice before their season opener against the Pitt Panthers on Sept. 1. The group that many people will be looking forward to seeing will be the wide receivers. There are plenty of questions to answer at receiver for the Mountaineers as they lost their leading receiver in Winston Wright Jr, along with Sam Brown, Isaiah Esdale and Sean Ryan. How will West Virginia replace this production? What newcomers will have big impacts on the Mountaineers season? Let’s take a look.
Projected Starters
Despite losing multiple receivers to the transfer portal, the Mountaineers starting receiver room still looks to be in a very good position for new starting QB JT Daniels. Neal Brown will see multiple starters return to the position, such as second leading receiver from last season Bryce Ford-Wheaton. Ford-Wheaton, a redshirt-junior out of North Carolina, is a big body receiver who is the type of player that you feel confident you can throw to in coverage and he will go up and get it. This is perfect for a QB like Daniels who trusts his receivers and likes to throw the long ball. We have seen Wheaton make many spectacular catches so far in his Mountaineer career, and we should see that continue this season.
Another returning starter for Neal Brown will be Sam James, the redshirt senior out of Georgia. James has been an on and off starter for Brown his entire tenure due to drop issues. Last season seemed to spell the end of those issues though, as he was a consistent target for Jarrett Doege. James was also a big scoring threat for the Mountaineers, tallying five receiving touchdowns, which was tied for most on the Mountaineers, as well as being tied for eighth in the Big 12. James is a burner in the slot, and just like Ford-Wheaton should thrive with a QB who looks to throw the deep ball.
Onto the first new starter for Neal Brown this season, true sophomore Kaden Prather was a very highly touted recruit out of Maryland and after seeing increased playing time at the end of last season will take a starting spot this season. Prather saw four starts at receiver last season, with most coming at the end of the year. He only caught 12 passes, but for 175 yards, giving him 14.6 yards per reception, with 9 receptions for 125 yards in the final 3 weeks. Prather is another big body, at 6’4, giving Daniels another guy who can go up and catch the ball over defenders. Unlike other big body outside receivers though, Prather is an excellent route runner as well as having outstanding after the catch ability, with a quick burst and great footwork. Prather is someone that Mountaineer fans should be excited to watch, and JT Daniels should be excited to throw to.
The final projected starter is another new one, in Kentucky sophomore Reese Smith. Smith mostly saw action on special teams in the previous two seasons, but did have 12 receptions for 124 yards last year. Smith is unlike the previously mentioned receivers, in that he doesn’t provide a deep threat. Smith is a receiver who plays underneath and looks to find the soft spot in a defense, while providing a safety net on plays where the other receivers aren’t an option. Smith likely won’t post huge numbers, but will still be a key in unlocking the offense.
Depth
Receiver is a position where you will see a lot of guys get snaps, and that’s without taking into account potential injuries. So having depth at receiver is essential. Unfortunately, West Virginia doesn’t bring back much returning depth at receiver. This doesn’t mean they don’t have quality depth at the position though, with young players wanting to prove themselves and transfers that were brought in.
First, let’s look at the JUCO transfer Neal Brown brought in. Cortez Braham is a junior from Maryland that helped lead his JUCO Hutchinson Community College to a Salt City Bowl Championship. He finished last season with 10 touchdowns, good enough for 10th nationally in JUCO. Braham is listed as Bryce Ford-Wheaton’s backup on the outside with his height and speed providing a similar playstyle as Ford-Wheaton. The other JUCO that Neal Brown brought in is Jeremiah Aaron, a sophomore from Navarro Community College. He is listed as the backup slot receiver to Sam James. Aaron received numerous awards for his time at Navarro, including being named to the NJCAA All-American Second Team. Aaron is a true burner who also excels on special teams. He averaged a whopping 18.8 yards per reception last season, and had scoring plays of 60+ yards four times. Aaron could be a guy who impresses and sees a lot of action the later the season goes on.
Then for returning depth receivers, we will start with Mountaineer fan favorite Preston Fox. Fox is from Morgantown, and was a former walk-on who saw action in five games last season, mostly on special teams. Then, after an impressive spring camp and a highlight reel catch in the spring game Fox was rewarded with a scholarship. He is also listed as the backup to Kaden Prather, which should excite Mountaineer fans. Returning at receiver is another native of West Virginia, redshirt junior Graesson Malashevich. Malashevich was used primarily on special teams last season as the teams punt returner, but is now listed as the backup to Reese Smith on the depth chart. Malashevich is another former walk-on and was awarded the Tommy Nickolich award last season, as WVU’s most outstanding walk-on.
The only freshman that is listed on the preseason depth chart is Alabama freshman Jarel Williams. Williams led his Alabama high school to a 10-3 record, as well as the state quarterfinals. He finished his senior season with 60 catches for 883 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is listed behind Preston Fox as the second backup to Kaden Prather and barring injuries, shouldn’t see significant playing time this season.
Who could breakout?
The most obvious choice, and most likely to breakout is Kaden Prather. Prather is one of the Mountaineers highest rated recruits of all time, and showed flashes of his incredible potential last season. So with a full off-season and a starting role in the offense he should put up big numbers. Looking past the obvious, the next most likely breakout star is Jeremiah Aaron for his contributions in the return game, as well as big play ability at receiver. While he may not see huge snap counts, he’s the type of player who could play 5 snaps and have a 60 yard touchdown.
Photo by Dale Sparks
