College Football

5 Storylines To Watch For the 2017 WVU Football Team

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:25 p.m. ET

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Sep 26, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Jovon Durante makes a move after catching a pass against the Maryland Terrapins during the first quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 WVU Football season didn’t end the way most had hoped, but finishing 10-3 is certainly something Dana Holgorsen can build on. We’re going to take a look at some storylines – or building blocks, if you will – for the 2017 Mountaineers.

A lot can be said about WVU Football and what they’ll do in 2017. Losing senior leaders like Tyler Orlosky, Rasul Douglas and Noble Nwachukwu won’t directly benefit the Mountaineers moving forward, but it will open avenues for younger players to grow and contribute. The addition of Will Grier will be a sure-fire hot topic throughout the summer and into the season, but does he have what it takes to lead us to the Big 12 title game? Wide receiver is another position with some uncertainty, but with Ka’Raun White and Jovon Durante thrust into bigger roles after a few departures, there will be some experience. Getting Dravon Askew-Henry and Brendan Ferns back from season-ending injuries in 2016 will boost Tony Gibson’s defense, but expect to see many new, unfamiliar faces sporting the Old Gold & Blue next season. Shall we get started?

Nov 28, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers cornerback Terrell Chestnut (16) is honored on senior day before their game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Player Departures

Football teams have a lot of turnover, whether it’s players, coaches, or on the field. The Mountaineers that played their last game will be missed, and we want to thank them for their dedication and hard work. A big congratulations to these players who graduated in December. Let’s Go!

The above players are simply those who got degrees in December, but a handful of others won’t be returning to the program. If you noticed, junior Shelton Gibson is listed. He announced via Instagram he’s decided to forego his senior season and prepare for the NFL Draft. A loss for the football team in the immediate future, but Gibson is just one name on a long list of wide receivers to go pro from West Virginia – earning the moniker Wide Receiver University, or simply WRU, for the school. Redshirt junior William Crest also announced he’ll be transferring from WVU to pursue his academic and athletic careers at another institution. Crest was a high school quarterback but never found a true position in Holgorsen’s offense, playing sparingly at both quarterback and wide receiver.

Other departures include Maurice Fleming, Jarrod Harper, Skyler Howard, Nana Kyremeh, Tony Matteo, Tyler Orlosky,  Khari Sharif, Daikiel Shorts, Jr., Sylvester Townes, Jeremy Tyler and Sean Walters. That’s 24 players for Dana Holgorsen and his staff to replace. Last summer was similar, having 20 seniors graduate and a few others leave early for the draft. Incoming recruits – junior college and high school alike – will be expected to contribute right away, or the team could face a tough road in early 2017.

Coach Holgorsen’s staff saw a number of first-year players contribute last season, including JuCo running back Justin Crawford and true freshman Kennedy McKoy. Crawford was a late commit to WVU after Wendell Smallwood left for the NFL, leaving a position in the backfield up for grabs. Crawford, the 2015 NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year, totaled just over 1,100 rushing yards his first season with the ‘Eers and surpassed 100 yards on the ground five times, twice reaching 200! McKoy was forced into action after both Shell and Crawford went down with injuries, but outsiders wouldn’t have noticed just by looking at the team stats. In his first game with double digit carries, McKoy ran for 83 yards against one of the Big 12’s toughest teams in Oklahoma State. The following two games saw him tote the rock at least 18 times and total exactly 200 yards and two scores. Both Shell and Skyler Howard are gone, though – two players that ran for a combined 977 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. Like we said though, turnover is expected. Luckily, Holgorsen and his staff understand how to keep talent flowing through not only the exit in Morgantown – but the entrance as well.

November 25, 2011; Morgantown,WV, USA: West Virginia Mountaineers fans celebrate a third quarter touchdown against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Milan Puskar Stadium. WVU won 21-20. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

Young Players & Incoming Recruits

We tried giving you updates on various recruits during awards season, but finally some early-enrollees are arriving on campus. South Charleston’s Derrek Pitts is one of them.

Pitts, who projects to play defense for Tony Gibson, is joined by Tevin Bush and Maverick Wolfley as the three early-enrollee freshmen for WVU. Bush was a running back/wide receiver for New Orleans’ Landry-Walker High School, and amassed 2,500 yards and 29 touchdowns on his way to a Class 5A State Championship. The final player of the trio is Wolfley, who may be the most familiar with WVU. Wolfley’s brother Stone was redshirted as a freshman this past season, while their father Dale was a member of the ’88 West Virginia squad that played for the National Championship. However you look at it, Maverick is a Wolfley – and you can never have too many of them around. Who knows, maybe he’ll channel his inner Steeler-playing grandfather Ray Mansfield. 

Aside from the early-enrollee high school players, some JuCo commits joined them on campus. Hakeem Bailey, Jalen Harvey, Dominique Maiden, Ezekiel Rose and Quondarius Qualls all enrolled on Jan. 10, 2017. Offensive coordinator Joe Wickline’s son, Kelby, and former ‘Eer David Sills, also joined the team via JuCo and enrolled in January.

West Virginia football (and basketball) have been a launchpad for junior college student-athletes looking to leap to the NCAA. Bruce Irvin, both Rasul Douglas and Justin Crawford, and all three of the White brothers (Kevin, Ka’Raun, Kyzir) were JuCo products. West Virginia doesn’t attract all the 4- and 5-star recruits Alabama or USC does, so these athletes looking for one last chance sometimes get that opportunity in Morgantown. As of right now, there are four JuCo players (Bailey, Harvey, Qualls & Rose) looking to be added to the defense, while three others (Maiden, Sills & Wickline) are expected to play offense. Adjusting from the JuCo to the NCAA game is different for every player, but West Virginia has proven those recruits can make immediate and lasting impacts.

Aside from recruits already on campus, many are finishing things up in high school. Players expected to sign with the program are Eugene Brown, Mike Harley, Jr., Ricky Johns, Exree Loe, Kenny Robinson, Alec Sinkfield, Collin Smith, Darius Stills and Tyler Thurmond. A handful of these guys are from the Pittsburgh-area, but Brown and Thurmond are from Georgia, while Sinkfield and Harley are from Florida; Stills is from West Virginia. Harley Jr., the St. Thomas Aquinas product who seemed to be a Mountaineer, announced via Twitter on Sunday his desire to re-open his commitment.

Oct 25, 2014; Stillwater, OK, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers safety Dravon Henry (6) runs in an interception for a touchdown against Oklahoma State Cowboys during the fourth quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. West Virginia won 34-10. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Returning Players

Just like in 2015 when the Mountaineers lost Karl Joseph to injury, 2016 began with Dravon Askew-Henry going down with an ACL tear. Expecting to be the glue for a team that lost 20 seniors, Askew-Henry was also the returning leading-tackler. With No. 6 flying around in deep center field next season, expect the play of those around him to rise, Kyzir White in particular. White’s first year for WVU was exciting from a fan perspective, but will dramatically improve with the help of Askew-Henry behind him. Having a player back you up with 26 career starts is a good feeling, and White will end up playing more freely because of it.

Brendan Ferns, one of the teams biggest recruits in 2016, tore his ACL prior to the season and missed the whole year as well. Before the injury, Ferns was making strides as a true freshman and garnering second-team snaps on defense. Ferns was Ohio’s Division IV Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and still has four years of eligibility left, redshirting after his injury.

Running back Kennedy McKoy will surely make an impact in his sophomore season for West Virginia, but fellow classmate Martell Petteway could discover a bigger role within the backfield for an offense undergoing transition.

Graduation and injuries play a big part in any program’s success, but was especially important this past year for WVU. Besides losing Askew-Henry and Ferns, WVU lost their staple at left tackle to injury, Yodny Cajuste. Cajuste started six games as a freshman in 2015 before getting hurt, and was hoping for a breakout year in 2016. With his return, and another year of experience for players like Marcell Lazard and Elijah Wellman, the Mountaineers have a solid core of veteran players to build around.

Oct 3, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Will Grier (7) points against the Mississippi Rebels during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Mississippi Rebels 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Will Grier

The last time anybody saw Will Grier play a football game was for the Gators in 2015. As a true freshman, Grier started the first six games for Florida and had them heading into a matchup of undefeated’s against LSU. Grier never played in that game – or for Florida again – and ended up at WVU. Let’s take a look at the numbers he posted while playing for the Gators.

In those six games, Grier completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,204 yards and 10 touchdowns. He added another 116 yards and two scores on the ground. One area of his game that impressed me was how fast Grier starts. Some quarterbacks have a rough time early in games, finding a rhythm or tending to force things; Grier didn’t have that problem. In the first quarter of his games while at UF, Grier completed 20 of his 30 passes (nearly 70 percent), threw for 15 first downs and had a quarterback rating of 178.91. The second quarter of those games was just as impressive, if not more, for Grier. On double the pass attempts, Grier completed 75 percent of them for 541 yards and four touchdowns. On those 60 pass attempts, 25 were completed for first downs, while 14 hit for big plays (15 yards or more). If Grier can produce at this type of clip under Dana Holgorsen, there’s no telling the heights this team could reach.

The last time Holgorsen had a big-armed quarterback, the Mountaineers were basking in Florida celebrating an Orange Bowl victory. They’ve been a run-heavy team the last few years, but changes are expected with Grier at the helm. Howard struggled attacking defenses over the middle with his arm due to his lack of size, listed at a generous 6’0. Grier is listed at 6’1″, but had no issue where Howard struggled. The first two highlights of this video should comfort all Mountaineer fans.!

The first play saw Grier deliver a dime to an open receiver down the seam, while the second saw him escape suffocating pressure and scamper in for the score. Most of the plays in that short video were against SEC teams Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee. So if you’re reading this getting excited about Grier and next year’s offense, it’s never too early!

Jan 2, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Ka

Pass-Catchers

Even with Shelton Gibson and Daikiel Shorts moving on from WVU, Grier will have a plethora of weapons at his disposal; veteran upperclassmen mixed with a few experienced youngsters should cause opposing defenses’ fits.

Ka’Raun White will look to improve on a 48-catch, 583-yard season that saw him catch five touchdowns. Those numbers were good for 3rd on the team, but White missed the final two games of the year, including the bowl game. His older brother Kevin flourished in his second and final season for the Mountaineers before going Top-10 in the NFL Draft. This’ll be Ka’Raun’s third year on campus, but only his second with an integral part on the team. Could 2017 be another White breakout year? Junior Jovon Durante should slide into Gibson’s vacant position nicely after his numbers dipped this past season. I think Durante could become a household name by season’s end if he and Grier get off to a quick start. Junior Gary Jennings, the team’s third-leading returning receiver, only posted 10 catches for 165 yards and two scores last year, but is hoping for a bigger role.

Let’s not forget about the youth for the ‘Eers at the receiver position. As a true freshman, Marcus Simms played sparingly and only caught six passes for 95 yards, but he did reach the endzone once. Four-star recruit Steven Smothers would be a great guess if you were trying to pick a player who would make the biggest leap from their freshman season. Smothers didn’t tally a catch as a true freshman, but 2017 could be an entirely different world for the Maryland native.

Tight ends Trevon Wesco and Elijah Wellman could be surprise contributors for a revamped Mountaineer offense this upcoming year as well. Wesco was a JuCo transfer last season and hauled in his lone target for a touchdown against Iowa State. At 6’5″, 250 lbs., Wesco is a matchup nightmare for defenses. With Grier being able to throw over the middle, expect a tight end to work that area more, Wesco in particular. Wellman is primarily a blocking fullback/tight end, but his role could expand depending on how Grier and the offensive line play. Trouble protecting Grier early on could see Wellman and Wesco garner more snaps. But if things go smoothly up front, we could see a prolific Mountaineer offense in 2017.

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