West Virginia

West Virginia Football: Why QB JT Daniels is an Impact Transfer Addition

Published

3 years ago

April 14, 2022

West Virginia Football: Why QB JT Daniels is an Impact Transfer Addition

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports activities

West Virginia scored an enormous win from faculty soccer’s switch portal on Wednesday, as JT Daniels introduced his intention to play for the Mountaineers in 2022. Daniels chosen West Virginia over Oregon State and Missouri and heads to Morgantown with two years of eligibility remaining. That is the third cease in Daniels’ profession after stints at USC and Georgia, and his resolution to switch to West Virginia is a large enhance for an inexperienced quarterback room and supplies an opportunity for coach Neal Brown’s crew to shock within the Huge 12.

Why is Daniels’ resolution to switch to West Virginia an enormous deal? Listed here are a number of elements to contemplate:

Untapped Expertise and a Match for the Offense
Daniels dedicated to USC within the 2018 signing class because the No. 2 pro-style quarterback and the No. 16 total recruit. The California native performed in 11 video games as a real freshman, throwing for two,672 yards and 14 touchdowns to 10 picks. Daniels was set to work below a brand new play-caller in Graham Harrell and a pass-first scheme at USC in ’19, however he suffered a season-ending knee harm and by no means performed once more for the Trojans.

Daniels departed for Georgia in ’20 and began the ultimate 4 video games that season after a gradual restoration from the ACL harm. In that four-game stint, Daniels threw for 1,231 yards and 10 touchdowns to solely two picks, whereas averaging a sturdy 10.3 yards per try.

Dangerous luck within the harm division hit Daniels in ’21 as soon as once more. A preseason harm hindered him early within the yr, with Stetson Bennett ultimately turning into the No. 1 quarterback for Georgia. In 21 profession video games, Daniels has handed for 4,840 yards and 32 touchdowns to 16 interceptions.

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Though accidents and unhealthy luck have allowed Daniels to start out only one full season of video games, the expertise and potential that was there as a five-star prospect continues to be in place in ’22. Additionally, Daniels is working as soon as once more below Harrell at West Virginia, giving him a chance for a quick begin in a well-recognized scheme.

Inexperienced Quarterback Room
West Virginia’s offense averaged solely 5.4 yards per play and 22.8 factors a sport in Huge 12 contests final yr. Leap-starting this group was a precedence for Brown, and one of many first steps was bringing Harrell aboard to name performs. Final yr’s starter Jarret Doege opted to switch to WKU, which left a few inexperienced choices in Garrett Greene and Will Crowder, together with promising freshman Nicco Marchiol. Between these three quarterbacks, West Virginia returned solely 32 cross makes an attempt on the collegiate stage. Daniels offers the Mountaineers an on the spot and confirmed starter for ’22 and assist to bridge the hole to the subsequent signal-caller – most probably Marchiol – in ’23 or ’24.

A Promising Supporting Solid Wanted a QB
Though final yr’s manufacturing was missing, with a change in method/scheme and an improve at quarterback, the items are in place for West Virginia to enhance on offense in an enormous means in ’22. The offensive line brings again all 5 starters, Clemson switch Lyn-J Dixon and Tony Mathis type a strong one-two punch at operating again, and there’s expertise at receiver with Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Sam James and Kaden Prather main the way in which. Having Daniels in place ought to assist West Virginia higher make the most of a few of this expertise this fall.

West Virginia’s Odds within the Huge 12 Have Improved with Daniels
As talked about beforehand, accidents have been a problem for Daniels, so holding him upright and wholesome within the pocket can be essential to West Virginia’s ’22 hopes. Additionally, his arrival stems a tide of unhealthy information in Morgantown after 4 key defensive gamers transferred since late February. Daniels wants to show a few of his potential into manufacturing, however with a well-recognized scheme below Harrell, a full season of high-level play is inside attain. And if that’s certainly the case, the Mountaineers can be a a lot larger issue within the Huge 12 than most had this crew pegged on the finish of the ’21 season. Probably, Daniels is likely one of the higher signal-callers within the Huge 12 and will make this crew a contender to complete within the prime half of the convention. Though Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are probably the preseason favorites, this league is huge open headed into ’22. If the suitable items fall into place for any crew outdoors of the highest three, a shock run within the convention is not out of the query.

Podcast: Takeaways From Spring Video games at Auburn, Texas A&M and Clemson, Switch Information, Early Spreads and Trying Again on the Memorable 1998 Season

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West Virginia

Who Steps Up for West Virginia at Receiver with Traylon Ray Done for the Year?

Published

1 hour ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Who Steps Up for West Virginia at Receiver with Traylon Ray Done for the Year?

West Virginia’s passing game hasn’t struck fear into the hearts of its opponents all year long, but the Mountaineers lost one of their biggest receiving threats, Traylon Ray, last week in the loss to Baylor.

A Baylor defensive back landed on Ray’s leg on a deep ball in the second half, causing the sophomore receiver to be carted off the field. Over the weekend, Ray underwent a successful surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Prior to the injury, Ray hauled in 28 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns on the season, giving him an average of 15.2 yards per catch. He scored three of his four touchdowns throughout his final four games played and made some big catches deep down the field. He leads all Mountaineer receivers in touchdowns, is second in receiving yards, and third in receptions.

So, how do the Mountaineers go about replacing Ray’s production for the final two games of the season?

“I think similar to when Hudson (Clement) was out. We take a team approach,” head coach Neal Brown answered. “Now, we’re going to miss him. I think that by the time Traylon’s career is done here, he’s going to be a really high-level player, and I really think the NFL is in his future. This is a minor setback. He’ll make the full recovery. It looked bad, but he’s going to make the full recovery, and he’s in good spirits. We’ll miss him.

“But we also got some guys that we can plug and play,” he continued. “Preston (Fox) will take a bigger role. Jarel Williams will play a little bit more on offense. Justin Robinson needs to play more like he did against Cincinnati, not like he did against Baylor. And I believe he will. It will be a committee approach.”

DayDay Farmer is another one who will likely see more action, although he has been splitting reps in the slot with Rodney Gallagher III for the last couple of weeks. While Farmer, Robinson, Fox, Williams, and others may become a little more involved, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll see a significant increase in targets.

Instead, look for tight end Kole Taylor to see a healthy dose of targets in these final two games. Over the last two weeks, Taylor has combined for ten receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. He’ll likely play a big role in the season finale at Texas Tech, but with cruddy weather in the forecast for Saturday, Ray’s absence shouldn’t impact the Mountaineers too much against UCF.

West Virginia and UCF will kick it off at 3:30 p.m. EST. The action can be streamed live on ESPNU.

West Virginia

2026 DL O'Neal talks West Virginia visit, offer

Published

9 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

2026 DL O'Neal talks West Virginia visit, offer

Cleveland (Oh.) Benedictine 2026 defensive lineman Tyrell O’Neal had been in contact with West Virginia for several weeks but made the decision to come to campus to get a first-hand look at the school.

O’Neal, 6-foot-3, 270-pounds, was impressed with the atmosphere overall but was excited when he found out that the Mountaineers were jumping into the mix with a scholarship offer.

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West Virginia

Deadspin | Sharp-shooting West Virginia doubles up Iona

Published

17 hours ago

November 20, 2024

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Deadspin | Sharp-shooting West Virginia doubles up Iona

Oct 23, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Darian DeVries talks to media during the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Javon Small scored 23 points to propel West Virginia to a wire-to-wire 86-43 victory over Iona on Wednesday night in Morgantown, W.Va.

Small also had five rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Mountaineers (3-1), who atoned for a humbling loss Friday at rival Pitt in which they trailed by as many as 31 points.

Jonathan Powell provided West Virginia with an instant jolt of offense, scoring all 11 of his points less than 10 minutes into the game. Tucker DeVries contributed 13 points, three steals and three blocks while Amani Hansberry added 10 points and nine rebounds.

The sharp-shooting Mountaineers shot 51.8 percent from the floor and made 15 of 31 3-pointers (48.4 percent).

James Patterson scored 12 points and Luke Jungers added 10 points for Iona (1-4) of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which committed 21 turnovers. West Virginia turned those mistakes into 26 points.

The Mountaineers held the Gaels’ top threat Dejour Reaves scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting. Reaves entered averaging 15.5 points per game.

Iona made 23.7 percent of its shots from the floor and 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from deep in the teams’ first-ever meeting.

DeVries opened the scoring with a 3-pointer before Powell took over to put the hosts ahead by double digits.

Moments after he entered the game, Powell scored on a fastbreak slam after a DeVries steal and then drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 that gave West Virginia a 21-7 lead less than seven minutes into the game.

Moments later, Powell added another trey, giving him 11 points in a span of 2:41 as the Mountaineers took a 27-12 lead.

Small took charge later in the half. His two 3-pointers highlighted a 12-0 surge that increased West Virginia’s lead to 39-17 with 6:55 left before halftime.

After the Mountaineers missed seven straight shots, Small delivered a three-point-play and followed with a triple to stretch the lead to 45-22 at the half.

From there, Iona never whittled the deficit to less than 21 points. West Virginia maxed out its lead at 82-38 when reserve Jake Auer drained the first of his two 3-pointers with 2:56 left.

–Field Level Media

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