The press conference opened with a question to Marshall asking for an overview of his wide receiver room. “I’m very excited (about) what we got going on right now,” Marshall replied. “I really feel like the room has some added depth, really feel strongly about eight guys in that room right now. I think they’re playing with high effort right now, doing some elite things. It’s going to be exciting this year, I can’t wait to line up to be honest.”
The following question asked how players returning to play with West Virginia, namely Preston Fox, Hudson Clement, Traylon Ray and Rodney Gallagher, have progressed during camp. “Those guys have made tremendous strides, in all facets of their play-ability,” Marshall answered. “I think they all had strong summers which have allowed them to do that. (Traylon) Ray is playing at a really high level right now, he’s gotten bigger, he’s gotten faster, he’s gotten stronger. (Preston) Fox is playing at a really high level right now. Just the way he’s been playing he’s just so reliable. (Hudson Clement) is playing at a high level right now as well, and high effort and he’s winning versus man at a high rate. Rodney, you know in the spring I told you guys that he wasn’t where I wanted him as a route runner right now, and he has made significant strides in that realm. I’m really excited for those four guys, but it’s a testament to the work that they’ve put in.”
Soon after, Marshall was asked to discuss the two receivers who transferred into Morgantown, Jaden Bray from Oklahoma State and Justin Robinson from Mississippi State. “Bray has been here since the spring, and he’s doing a phenomenal job,” Marshall began. “He’s just a freak athlete, and one thing I love about the man is that he just plays so hard every snap, and he really lays it down on the line for his guys. He’s a pleasure to be around all the time, he’s just always happy, I’ve never seen him in a bad mood; really great addition. Justin Robinson got here this summer, really big target, very long, big body. His biggest thing right now is just learning how to strain through some things and to play hard, and to play to the standard of our room. If you turn on the tape (for) those four guys that played last year, they played really hard. That’s the standard in this room and if he learns how to do that he’ll be a really good player. He’s got all the skill sets. He can run, he’s got great ball skills, he’s strong, we got to get that extra oomph from him and it’s my job to make sure I get that out of him.
The next inquiry from the media was about Rodney Gallagher after it was said earlier in the week that he was seeing snaps on the defensive side of the ball. When asking about where Gallagher’s progression was as a receiver, Marshall responded with high praise. “The thing about Rodney is, he’s an athlete and you can only do this if you’re an athlete. He does some natural things on defense which is allowing him to do that, but he knows the offense. Because it’s his second year in the offense, it’s not something where you’re trying to teach somebody brand new how to do this. He knows what to do. For defense, it’s a little bit more of a learning curve, but he can handle it from a mental standpoint be cause he is smart and he is competitive. When you got a guy like that, you can do whatever you want.”
You can watch the entire press conference here:
