MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The nation's leading returning touchdown catcher, David Sills V, believes getting closer as a team this summer could pay big dividends this fall.
 
Sills V, who caught 18 touchdown passes last season in his first full campaign as a major college wide receiver, says team bonding is a much bigger deal than the casual fan might think.
 
"The biggest thing we're getting better at is getting closer as a team and getting closer as individuals on the team and having more of that family connection, which a lot of people don't think that plays that big of a role in a season. Having the family aspect, getting to know one another, having the trust in each other out on the field really pays off," he said recently.
 
It does.
 
Think back to some of West Virginia's most successful football teams through the years - the 1989 Fiesta Bowl team, the 1994 Sugar Bowl squad, Rich Rodriguez's run of top-10 teams in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and Dana Holgorsen's first Mountaineer team in 2011 that routed Clemson in the Orange Bowl - all of them had players who got along with each other.
 
Not that last year's team didn't or wasn't that close, but getting that band-of-brothers type of mentality can take a team a long way, especially when things become more difficult and the issues become more complex later in a season.
 
In many instances, these things are taken care of (or not taken care of) in the locker room, and having a lot of older, more experienced players can help that process along immensely.
 
That is where Sills V says the expectations he has for himself have changed from last year to this season.
 
"I've kind of had the same mentality going into every season playing football," he explained. "This year it's going to be a bigger leadership role and the biggest thing I want to help the team out is kind of connecting the team and having more of that family connection and having each other's back.
 
"Having the trust when the offense needs the defense to get a stop, we can trust the defense to get that and when we need to put some points on the board the defense can trust us," he continued. "We've been doing a lot of hanging out and bonding stuff outside of here like having meals together, which really goes a long way."
 
The coaches have also done some creative things to help this process along. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital noted earlier this summer the mentoring system they have adopted with the older players taking the younger players under their wings.
 
There are four new receivers in town right now with skill sets running the gamut, from speed guys such as Sam James and Randy Fields Jr. to big, physical, pass-catching targets such as Dillon Spalding and Bryce Wheaton.
 
All of them have mentors. Sills V is taking Spalding, a two-time Washington, D.C. All-Metro choice, under his wing, which is a great thing for Spalding.
 
"We're just trying to show them the ropes," Sills V said. "We want them to come in and understand the grind early and tell them, 'This is how we work.' You don't want them to get in and get off on the wrong foot not knowing what the standard is and how we hold it to them every day.
 
"I'm asking them, 'Did you catch today? Did you do what you need to do? Did you get on the JUGS?' They're doing a great job with it, and they're doing a great job competing in conditioning with their lifts and everything, and I'm excited to see what they're going to do this year."
 


Fortunately, there is enough frontline firepower returning at wide receiver this fall that needing those four new guys to step up and become 50-catch players right away is not necessary.
 
In addition to Sills V at H, West Virginia has 1,000-yard receiver Gary Jennings Jr. returning at Y, burner Marcus Simms back at X and touted Alabama transfer T.J. Simmons ready to take over Ka'Raun White's spot at Z.
 
Dominique Maiden is still around and has improved, as has Charleston sophomore Druw Bowen and sophomore utility man Tevin Bush, who is versatile enough to line up in the slot or in the backfield.
 
Simmons, however, is the new guy many Mountaineer fans are anxious to see perform when West Virginia opens the season in Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 1, against Tennessee.
 
"With Ka'Raun leaving, there is definitely a void that we need to fill," Sills V cautioned. "He had 12 touchdowns last year, which is a lot. Losing that is big, but from what I've seen from T.J. all last season on the scout team and this spring, he brings a lot of fire to the table. 
 
"He has good energy about everything he does, and he's the guy that's always going to be saying something, which is something I don't think we had that much on offense last year," Sills V added. "I try to do my best with that, but I'm not the rah-rah, hype guy. Obviously, he's got a great skill set as well. He's very strong and he can run and catch the ball, too, so he will be a big threat for us this year."
 
There also will be other threats for quarterback Will Grier to consider, such as the tight end position, which is being emphasized once again at WVU for probably the first time since Anthony Becht played for the Mountaineers in the late 1990s.
 
"It just adds another part to our game," Sills V said. "With the tight end, it's a whole other thing for the defense to have to deal with. If we use it 15 plays a game or just a few times, it's just another thing that they've got to prepare for, and the more things they have to prepare for that harder it is to stop one thing."
 
Which means defenses can't concentrate solely on Sills V, or Jennings, or Simms or Simmons. Choosing to do so comes with great peril.
 
"I feel like we have enough weapons to where it's tough for them to key in on one position because we've got Gary, who had a tremendous season last year and has had a great offseason this year and is ready to have another great year," Sills V said. "If I take coverage with me, then he's going to have a huge game and if he as a huge game then the coverage is going to go to him.
 
"Then we've got Marcus and T.J. and the young guys have come in and done a great job of adapting," he added.
 
Not to mention those tight ends now, too.