West Virginia’s Snap Counts and PFF Grades from Duke’s Mayo Bowl

West Virginia Football closed out the 2023 season with a 30-10 victory over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. They got contributions from their offense, defense, and special teams to propel the way to victory.

But how did the individual players grade out?

This article will take a look at the Pro Football Focus grades from West Virginia’s game against North Carolina. The list will be split into offense and defense and list the grades from first to worst then discuss the notable highlights from the grades.

Offense

• WR Hudson Clement: 77.0 (51 snaps)
• LT Wyatt Milum: 72.7 (56 snaps)
• QB Garrett Greene: 69.9 (54 snaps)
• WR Traylon Ray: 69.3 (52 snaps)
• TE Kole Taylor: 62.4 (51 snaps)
• C Brandon Yates: 62.1 (57 snaps)
• QB Nicco Marchiol: 60.5 (3 snaps)
• LT Johnny Williams IV: 60.0 (1 snap)
• RT Sullivan Weidman: 60.0 (1 snap)
• HB Jahiem White: 59.8 (39 snaps)
• RG Ja’Quay Hubbard: 58.7 (57 snaps)
• HB Jaylen Anderson: 58.6 (16 snaps)
• WR Jarel WIlliams: 58.3 (4 snaps)
• WR EJ Horton: 57.0 (5 snaps)
• WR Devin Carter: 53.9 (15 snaps)
• WR Rodney Gallagher III: 52.4 (27 snaps)
• LG Tomas Rimac: 50.2 (57 snaps)
• TE Treylan Davis: 50.1 (18 snaps)
• RT Doug Nester: 45.8 (42 snaps)
• HB DJ Oliver: 38.5 (2 snaps)
• RT Nick Malone: 32.2 (19 snaps)

Hudson Clement led the offensive PFF grades for the bowl game. He also had the highest grade in the passing game at 77.1 as he finished with 89 yards receiving on a team-leading five catches.

Wyatt Milum led the team in pass blocking grade at 85.2. Much like the team has for much of the season, the offense graded out a lot better in pass blocking than run blocking, where Milum also led the team there at 65.3.

Garrett Greene led the team in rushing grade at 67.5 as he led the team with 75 rushing yards on the night.

Brandon Yates replaced Zach Frazier at center and played a solid game, particularly in pass blocking where he graded out at 84.1.

It was a quiet performance from the running backs in this bowl game. Jahiem White and Jaylen Anderson both graded out poorly in pass blocking and DJ Oliver’s overall grade was hurt by a lost fumble recovered by North Carolina.

Some guys saw their first action on offense in a while. Jaylen Anderson played offensive snaps for the first time since the UCF game, Jarel Williams saw offensive snaps for the first time since the BYU game, and DJ Oliver saw his first offensive snaps since the Duquesne game.

West Virginia’s seven offensive penalties were the most since the BYU game. Tomac Rimac and Doug Nester each were penalized multiple times, with Rimac’s penalties his first of the season.

Doug Nester’s college career ended on a sour note, as he received a season-low in overall PFF grade.

Defense

• BAN Tyrin Bradley: 91.9 (25 snaps)
• LB Lee Kpogba: 82.6 (72 snaps)
• DL Hammond Russell IV: 74.7 (17 snaps)
• DL Tomiwa Durojaiye: 72.7 (45 snaps)
• DL Edward Vesterinen: 71.5 (42 snaps)
• FS Aubrey Burks: 71.4 (67 snaps)
• LB Ben Cutter: 71.0 (38 snaps)
• SPEAR Marcis Floyd: 70.3 (66 snaps)
• DL Fatorma Mulbah: 68.9 (25 snaps)
• DL Asani Redwood: 68.6 (17 snaps)
• SS Anthony Wilson: 66.0 (72 snaps)
• LB Caden Biser: 65.0 (34 snaps)
• DL Jalen Thornton: 64.7 (36 snaps)
• CB Beanie Bishop Jr.: 64.0 (72 snaps)
• BAN Jared Bartlett: 61.9 (50 snaps)
• DL Corey McIntyre Jr.: 59.1 (2 snaps)
• DL Davoan Hawkins: 58.7 (11 snaps)
• DL Sean Martin: 58.5 (21 snaps)
• CB Malachi Ruffin: 57.9 (72 snaps)
• CB Jacolby Spells: 50.7 (8 snaps)

The defense according to the PFF data had a season-high 27 pressures, 12 quarterback hurries, a season-high 10 sacks, 15 missed tackles, and two penalties.

Tyrin Bradley led the defensive PFF grades for the bowl game as he became the first defensive player to reach the PFF 90 club since Aubrey Burks did it in the BYU game. Bradley had a one-handed interception that eventually led to him having a team-leading 92.6 coverage grade.

Lee Kpogba played every defensive snap possible and led the team with an 87.5 run defense grade and 13 combined tackles.

Edward Vesterinen had one of his best performances of the season, leading the team with a 76.8 tackling grade.

Marcis Floyd led the team in pass rushing grade at 74.1 as a defensive back. He didn’t have a sack but had three pressures, the second-most on the team behind Tomiwa Durojaiye.

Caden Biser made his first career start at linebacker and finished with an 82.0 run defense grade.

Jared Bartlett was credited with missing a team-high three tackles which led to a 29.2 tackling grade.

Beanie Bishop had a punt return touchdown on special teams but also allowed the team’s only touchdown on defense.

With Mike Lockhart transferring and Sean Martin missing a good chunk of the game, some defensive linemen saw season-highs in snaps. Tomiwa Durojaiye, Asani Redwood, and Jalen Thornton were guys heavily relied on by West Virginia.