MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia receivers coach Lonnie Galloway is blessed with a rangy, galloping group of athletes, but two of those were sidelined Thursday when the team practiced in its indoor facility.
Dante Campbell’s right shoulder injury had been confirmed by Dana Holgorsen earlier in the day, but the team gave no word on Jordan Thompson, who wore a similar sling on his left arm. The sophomores, both of whom are anticipated to be in the two-deep rotation, stood away from the action in their red non-contact jerseys.
Holgorsen said he wasn’t certain about the long-term status of Campbell, who missed spring drills following surgery on the same shoulder. But if there’s a position where WVU can absorb some sprains and strains, it’s the receiving unit, which still had another 15 players taking reps.
Among them was freshman Shelton Gibson, who was making crisp cuts after a week of being slowed by a right knee injury.
“The depth chart’s changing every day,” said Galloway, who seems to be getting a charge out of the competition. “They all pretty much know what to do—now it’s just trying to do it at the tempo they need to.”
When Galloway spent the 2008-2010 seasons at West Virginia, those offenses were nowhere near the pass-catchers’ dream that Holgorsen has installed. But Galloway, in search of complete players, is impressing upon his guys they won’t earn playing time based solely on good hands.
“We wouldn’t have recruited you if you couldn’t catch a football, so now I need to see you blocking, running, chasing the football and doing all the things that make us a better team,” he said.
“You have to compete if you want to play. Either you’re going to show up or you’ll be on the scout team.”