Two players recovered from injury while three others went down ahead of WVU’s win over the UCF Knights on Saturday.
Redshirt sophomore Tomas Rimac returned to the offensive line at left guard for the game after a leg injury kept him out for two weeks. With him, junior linebacker Jared Bartlett played Saturday after suffering a minor injury against Oklahoma State.
Outside of these recoveries, however, Neal Brown’s lineup was, and still is, significantly impacted by injuries for this key portion of the season.
For one thing, wide receiver Hudson Clement remains out after suffering an ankle injury against Oklahoma State, removing one of Greene’s go-to targets from his arsenal. As such, Greene split the receiver duties evenly in Orlando, completing three passes each to Devin Carter and Preston Fox and successfully targeting Kole Taylor four other times.
Without Clement, though, WVU heavily relied on their run game for scoring against UCF. No receiving touchdowns were thrown in the game, and the team totaled 110 less receiving yards than John Rhys Plumlee’s offense in the game.
While Bartlett was cleared to play, West Virginia still had a thin depth chart at the linebacker position. Sophomore Jairo Faverus, who took on a greater role in the continued absence of freshman Trey Lathan, was out with injury on Saturday.
Additionally, SPEAR Hershey McLaurin missed his first of what may be several games. Without the suspended Lance Dixon to fill in for him, this injury was another major hit to West Virginia’s defensive coverage in the game.
Despite these injuries, though, the Mountaineers, as a whole, have adapted well.
Faverus’s replacement, Caden Biser, filled the greater role well, totaling four solo tackles and two assists from the linebacker position. Furthermore, the short injury period for Rimac allowed West Virginia’s depth to show itself on the offensive line.
Redshirt junior Ja’Quay Hubbard has proven to be another viable option at guard after performing in Rimac’s absence. This depth on the line will be essential going forward, as senior right tackle Doug Nester may be out going forward after falling to injury on Saturday.
As injuries start to recover, the Mountaineers will look more and more complete, but Neal Brown and his team have adapted well in the meantime. With changes happening each game, having players step up into these roles is the best thing the team can ask for late in the season.
