It is safe to say West Virginia’s wide receiver room had a lot of turnover since last fall. But an answer as for who could replace some of that production comes in the form of a true freshman.
Traylon Ray is a true freshman from Tallahassee, Florida, and coaches have raved about how he has performed thus far through fall camp.
“Traylon Ray, true freshman receiver was our leading receiver in the scrimmage and from a freshman standpoint he’s doing some good things and I think he’ll be in the mix for us,” head coach Neal Brown said last Monday following WVU’s first scrimmage.
Ray brings both athleticism and size to WVU’s receiving room. A three-sport athlete in high school, Ray chose WVU over the likes of Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, and Tennessee, among others. Listed at 6-foot-3, 193 pounds, Ray has turned heads through fall camp.
“He’s about where I thought he would be. When I watched his high school highlight tape, I thought the kid has a chance to be special,” wide receivers coach Bilal Marshall said. “He’s a great kid, he works his butt off, he’s very intelligent. He just has a knack for finding the ball.”
Brown continued to add on Ray, saying despite arriving late in June, he has learned quickly and is figuring things out on the fly.
“Traylon Ray is smooth, I like him,” Brown said. “He’s going to be player. He didn’t get here until late, because he played baseball late. So he’s only been here since the last week of June, but I like him. He’s long, he’s got really good ball skills, natural, he’s highly intelligent.”
Part of the smooth transition for Ray is that he played a similar system and style of offense in high school.
Brown said he knows Ray’s high school coach, and due to him running similar plays in high school, that helped Ray come to WVU, “ahead of the curve.”
“He’s going to be a good player,” Brown said. “It’s not out of the question he’ll play right away.”
