Myles to Go
December 15, 2006 11:11 AM | General
December 15, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Wide receiver Brandon Myles has fared reasonably well in West Virginia’s run-first offense. The senior finished the 2006 regular season with a flurry, catching 13 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns in his last four games to complete the year with 30 catches for 468 yards and seven TDs.
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| Senior Brandon Myles leads West Virginia with seven touchdown catches.
Van Slider photo |
And while Myles’ regular season numbers this year aren’t Calvin Johnson-like, they do represent a level of consistency uncommon at WVU.
For his career, the Goochland, Va., resident has caught 70 passes for 1,142 yards and 12 touchdowns. He ranks ninth among all West Virginia pass catchers in career touchdowns, 24th in career receiving yards and is tied with Reggie Rembert for 24th in career catches.
What is remarkable is the fact that of the 25 WVU players to produce more than 1,000 career receiving yards, Myles, tight end Mark Raugh and 1950s-era receiver Paul Bischoff are the only three to do so without the benefit of having a 100-yard receiving game.
Myles’ best performance to date was a six-catch, 95-yard, two-touchdown performance against South Florida on Nov. 25. He followed that up with a four-catch, 63-yard, one-touchdown game against Rutgers to finish the regular season.
Is this a prelude of what is to come down in Jacksonville for the 2007 Gator Bowl?
“I’m still preparing the same and doing things to help my game so we’ll just see what happens in the Gator Bowl,” Myles said. “I’ve just had an opportunity and I’ve had to take advantage of it.”
Myles enters the Gator Bowl with a streak of having caught at least one pass in 24 straight games dating back to the 2005 season opener.
Most impressive is his career ratio of catches to touchdowns. Of his 70 career receptions 12 have gone for TDs, or a ratio of one touchdown for every 5.8 catches.
That compares favorably with some of the very best in school history. Chris Henry and Reggie Rembert have the best touchdown-to-reception ratio at 3.9, followed by Cedric Thomas (4.8), Jim Braxton (4.9) and Danny Buggs (5.7).
All of this could have been wiped clean had present Big East rules been in place when Myles arrived in Morgantown five years ago. The conference no longer accepts partial academic qualifiers.
More importantly, West Virginia University would be one college graduate lighter. Myles is presently working on a master’s degree with a minor in communication.
“No, I don’t plan to be a reporter,” he laughed.
However, Brandon is planning on having a big sendoff against Georgia Tech in the 2007 Toyota Gator Bowl.
“We’re going down there to get our work in and do whatever we’ve got to do later,” he said. “Our primary focus is on playing against Georgia Tech.”
In between finals, Myles says he’s had a chance to watch some Georgia Tech video.
“I’ve watched some film of their defense and they seem like they’re real athletic and talented,” he said. “It’s an ACC school and they’ve got great athletes.”
“Their secondary is real talented,” he said.
West Virginia has been to the Gator Bowl three of the last four years and Myles has enjoyed every trip to Jacksonville.
“It’s a great bowl. I’ve been down there before. It’s a great atmosphere and I can’t wait to play in it,” he said.
Myles admits it’s hard to believe he’s been to four-straight Jan. 1 bowl games during his career.
“When I came in it was like we were a part of building the program and I could see it; it was coming and it’s great that we’ve made five straight bowl games,” he said.
Myles says it is a night-and-day difference between now and his freshman season in 2003. The fifth year was extremely beneficial.
“It has made a lot of difference as far as maturing more, learning more things as far as running routes, figuring out defenses and things like that,” Myles said. “I’ve improved on a lot of things like blocking, concentrating on catching the ball, running routes and things like that.”
And while Myles isn’t as well known as his Georgia Tech counterpart and some of the other top college pass catchers, he does have some of the measurables pro scouts are looking for. A good workout or two could get someone’s attention. He has already been invited to play in this year's Senior Bowl.
“I don’t really think about it. I’m just trying to play in the Gator Bowl and win that,” Myles said. “I just want to see what happens after the season.”
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