Preparations for 2021 Grid Campaign Begin Friday Morning

Photo by: Ben Queen

Preparations for 2021 Grid Campaign Begin Friday Morning

August 04, 2021 04:30 PM | Football, Blog

By: John Antonik

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Isn't it nice to be finally getting back to some college football after a long and unsettling offseason?

The helmets and shoulder pads have now been removed from storage as West Virginia begins preparations for the 2021 season starting Friday morning. A day later, Mountaineer fans will get an opportunity to meet the players and coaches at 9 a.m. on the West concourse of Milan Puskar Stadium as part of Fan Day 2021.

Last year's event was canceled because of COVID-19, so there will be a lot of catching up to do. Fans will also have an opportunity to remain in the stands to observe the team's Saturday morning practice.

Coach Neal Brown is beginning year three at West Virginia with a lot of experienced players on both sides of the ball. He's got one of the top returning defensive tackles in the country in senior Dante Stills, a former four-star recruit out of Fairmont Senior High who turned down scholarship offers from Oklahoma and Florida to play for his home-state school.

Brown is really high on Stills, who appears to be in fantastic shape heading into his senior season.

"I think he's got a chance to have a breakout year," Brown said earlier this month.

Stills will be teaming with dynamic sophomore Akheem Mesidor, a Freshman All-American who will be moving inside to give West Virginia two of the most athletic and active interior defensive linemen in the country. "I think (Mesidor has) really got an opportunity to be a special player in our league," Brown said.

The West Virginia defense last year finished the season ranked first in the country against the pass, allowing just 159.6 yards per game, and fourth in total yardage, permitting 291.4 yards per contest – a more than 100 yards-per-game improvement from the 2019 season.

It's the first time since 2010 a Mountaineer defense limited their opponents to fewer than 300 yards per game, and several key returners such as free safety Alonzo Addae, cat safety Sean Mahone, linebackers Josh Chandler-Semedo and Exree Loe, bandit VanDarius Cowan and cornerback Nicktroy Fortune return.

West Virginia will also have the full-season services of Arizona transfer Scottie Young Jr., who performed well in last year's AutoZone Liberty Bowl victory over Arizona and has been impressive in individual player workouts this summer.

The 5-foot-10, 207-pounder is expected to step in and play the spear position this season, much like former Arizona teammate Tony Fields II did last year at mike linebacker. Three other transfers – Penn State's Lance Dixon, Maine's Deshawn Stevens and Illinois State's Charles Woods – also figure prominently in West Virginia's defensive plans.

There are a number of young and talented defensive players who are primed to make their marks in major college football this season such as Sean Martin, Lanell Carr, Jalen Thornton, Taurus Simmons, Jared Bartlett, James Thomas, Daryl Porter Jr. and true freshman Davis Mallinger.

"I thought we had one of the best defensive units in the Big 12 Conference last year and nationally, and our statistics back that up," Brown said. "Really, that's the unit with the most experience and that unit that will lead us again."

Leddie Brown

On the other side of the ball, West Virginia's offense made significant improvement during Brown's second season, going from an anemic 20.6 points per game in 2019 to 26.5 points per contest in 2020.

The biggest strides came in the running game, which went from abysmal (Brown's description) in 2019 to acceptable in 2020. Running back Leddie Brown eclipsed the 1,000-yard barrier in only 10 games, including a career-high 195 yards in the Kansas victory and four other 100-yard performances during his breakout 2020 season.

The 210-pound Philadelphia resident is looking to improve upon those numbers in 2021.

"I think he's special, and his video showed that last year," Brown said of his senior running back.

However, it will be important for West Virginia to develop another capable runner to support Brown. Redshirt-sophomore Tony Mathis Jr. and redshirt-freshman A'Varius Sparrow performed well this past spring, but they will be challenged this fall by a pair of touted freshman runners in Jaylen Anderson and Justin Johnson.

Senior Jarret Doege heads into 2021 as the team's No. 1 quarterback. The former Bowling Green transfer has an 8-5 record as West Virginia's starting quarterback, and the Lubbock, Texas, resident has completed 64% of his 494 pass attempts for 3,405 yards and 21 touchdowns while at WVU.

He threw three touchdown passes in the Eastern Kentucky and Kansas wins and a pair of TDs in the Kansas State and TCU victories. Doege has really had just one subpar performance since coming to West Virginia and that came in the Liberty Bowl when he was replaced after halftime by backup Austin Kendall.

"I thought he played really well during the middle part of the season last year, and he probably had the best spring of anybody on the offensive side of the ball," Brown said.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Garrett Greene oozes with potential and playmaking ability, but he sometimes gets himself into trouble with poor decision making. That's something he has been working on diligently to clean up.

The offensive line continues to evolve with starters James Gmiter, Zach Frazier and Brandon Yates returning. Virginia Tech transfer Doug Nester, a former four-star prospect out of Spring Valley High, offers the group some sorely needed size and experience, while touted newcomer Wyatt Milum is considered WVU's most exciting offensive line signee in years.

Parker Moorer, Jordan White, John Hughes, Donavan Beaver, Nick Malone, Tyler Connolly and Virginia transfer Ja'Quay Hubbard probably give this group the depth it really hasn't had since West Virginia joined the Big 12 a decade ago.

"Up front, we have five guys that have played a lot of college football, and we have a couple of young guys that I think will be factored into that position," Brown said.

Tight ends Mike O'Laughlin and T.J. Banks are Big 12-caliber talents who can help the offensive line while attached, or assist a young receiver corps in the passing game when split out. West Virginia has talented players at all four receiver spots, but it has yet to provide the consistency needed to give the offense the ability to reliably attack all parts of the field.

Junior Winston Wright Jr. led the team with 47 catches for 553 yards and two touchdowns in 2020 and was particularly effective in the screen game. Junior Sam James hauled in 31 passes for 300 yards, but that was less than half of what he had as a sophomore in 2019.

Bryce Ford-Wheaton has all of the physical tools to be a big-time pass catcher, including a 6-foot-3, 218-pound frame, which the coaching staff is hopeful will translate into more catches and touchdowns in 2021.

The depth chart includes former Temple transfer Sean Ryan, sophomore Sam Brown, spring standout Isaiah Esdale, glue-handed Reese Smith, Graeson Malashevich and touted newcomer Kaden Prather, a four-star prospect out of Montgomery Village, Maryland, who enrolled in January and turned heads during spring drills.

"We have got guys that have played football now for two years, and we have talent in that room," Brown explained. "They have had a good spring and they have to make that next step. I think how they play is going to determine the success of our offense."

Special teams are an area Brown really emphasizes, and he wants much more out of his return game this season. He thought there were instances last year when returns were blocked well enough for long gainers that didn't materialize.

Evan Staley returns from injury in 2020 to give the place kicking game a boost, while former Troy transfer Tyler Sumpter is expected to handle the punting chores.

"We have to be more consistent kicking and punting," Brown said.

Overall, the veteran coach believes he has more athleticism for the special teams units than at any point during his first two seasons at West Virginia. "I think our coverage units will continue to be productive, and that's the plan."

The Mountaineers are playing one of the most challenging schedules in the country, beginning in College Park, Maryland, against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, Sept. 4.

A week-three meeting against Virginia Tech at Milan Puskar Stadium precedes West Virginia's Big 12 opener at Oklahoma, which some are predicting to win the national championship this season.

An Oct. 30 meeting against potential top-10 team Iowa State also looms.

"Schedule-wise, it's very challenging playing 11 Power 5s," Brown admitted. "We're one of four universities that play 11 Power 5s, nine league games as you know, and we play two regional rivals.

"We open at Maryland, which is going to be a challenge, and week three we welcome Virginia Tech, and going back to the Big East days, it's one of the main rivals for our program. We're looking forward to the challenge," Brown concluded.

Tickets for the 2021 season are now on sale through the Mountaineer Ticket Office and can be purchased by calling 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com.