Multitude of injuries leave Mountaineers reeling following latest setback – WV MetroNews

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia had relatively good injury luck through the first half of the 2024 regular season.

That changed Saturday night in the Mountaineers’ seventh game, with quarterback Garrett Greene, running back Jahiem White and left tackle Wyatt Milum all being forced to sit out the second half of a 45-18 loss to 17th-ranked Kansas State.

“A rash of head injuries really,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said. “Four of them in total. I didn’t talk to [Vincent Blankenship], our trainer, because he was so busy after the game. I try to talk to him usually before I come up here, but he was tied up.”

Milum, widely regarded as the team’s top player and a potential first or second-round selection in next year’s NFL Draft, missed West Virginia’s final first-half series and was replaced by Johnny Williams from that point forward. White did not touch the ball on the final first-half series after his three carries one possession before.

Greene lasted through the first half, but Brown suggested his injury occurred on the team’s last possession of the opening half, which ended with West Virginia’s senior signal-caller throwing an incomplete pass in the direction of tight end Kole Taylor on fourth-and-1 from the Wildcats’ 3-yard line. The Wildcats led 17-10 at that point, and went on to score 21 unanswered points to start the second half.

“They pressured us, but kind of dropped. Kole’s open. I don’t know if Garrett didn’t see him,” Brown said. “I don’t know when Garrett got hurt during that drive either, because he missed a couple things that were uncharacteristic. I don’t know when he was hurt. Obviously I can’t find out tonight, but I’ll find out. That was a pivotal play, but even if we tie that up, I’m not sure we have enough in the tank in the second half even if it’s 17-17 going in.”

Had the trio of key offensive players been able to play in the second half, they would have faced a 14-point deficit for the first series of the third quarter after Kansas State marched 74 yards and generated a touchdown to start the third quarter.

Instead, the Mountaineers were forced to try and play catch-up with backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol, without their most productive offensive lineman and minus White, who entered the contest with a team-high 398 rushing yards.

WVU’s first two second-half series generated 26 yards on 11 plays and no points. The first ended with a punt, while the second concluded with Marchiol’s incomplete pass on fourth-and-5 from the Wildcats’ 37.

When the Mountaineers (3-4, 2-2) produced their only second-half touchdown, it was much too little, too late, as they faced a 28-point fourth-quarter deficit to start that series.

Marchiol did not practice Tuesday due to injury, though he returned to the field Wednesday.

“We weren’t real productive in the second half,” Brown said. “Some of that was on him and some of it wasn’t.”

WVU’s defense also endured several notable injuries after entering the contest short-handed.

Safety Aubrey Burks and cornerback Ayden Garnes, two starters in the secondary, did not dress. 

Defensive lineman T.J. Jackson, the team leader in sacks and tackles for loss, was limited to 12 snaps after battling through injury to play at all, and left the game for good in the second half due to injury.

Defensive lineman Hammond Russell also entered the matchup battling injury and was forced to exit in the second half.

“We played K-State, which is really physical and Iowa State, which is really physical,” Brown said. “Two of the more physical teams in the country. 

“It’s not like we’re playing a bunch of these space games. It’s tough man. I’m real careful to ever criticize our players. This is a tough game. I’d be real careful criticizing 17 to 22-and-23-year-olds that put their body on the line. You can criticize me. That’s fine. I’m not backing down from that. I’m in charge of this. We underperformed, but I’d be really careful of challenging them, just because of how physical the game is. These guys are putting their bodies at risk and we had some damage done tonight.”