MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two weeks shy of facing Texas Tech’s white-hot passing attack, West Virginia’s secondary is on the mend.
Starting cornerback Antonio Crawford (shoulder), who did not dress against Kansas State, will practice in a green non-contact jersey this week before being “full-go” next week, coach Dana Holgorsen said Tuesday.
Maurice Fleming, who started in place of Crawford during the 17-16 win over K-State and was limited in the second half by a recurring ankle injury, is practicing full-speed now, Holgorsen said.
Those injuries forced Elijah Battle into his first extended action of the season, and the junior college transfer performed so capably that defensive coordinator Tony Gibson left the postgame media session chanting “Elijah Battle MVP!”
Battle made three tackles — one each in pass coverage, run support and kick coverage. He allowed an 18-yard catch to K-State’s Isaiah Zuber on third-and-14 but blanketed receivers on two other targets.
“Having a guy like Elijah Battle step up was big, was really big,” Holgorsen said. “It was good. Good to see.”
The Mountaineers (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) haven’t faced any offense approximating Texas Tech (3-1, 1-1), which leads the FBS in passing (548 yards per game), total offense (664 yards) and scoring (59.5 points) through four games.
Patrick Mahomes, despite leaving last Thursday’s 55-19 win over Kansas with third-quarter injury to to his throwing arm, still tops the nation in total offense (483 yards per game) and ranks second with 18 passing touchdowns, behind only former Texas Tech quarterback David Webb at Cal.
Red Raiders coach Kliff Kingsbury called Mahomes day-to-day, but his backup, Iowa transfer Nic Shimonek, threw four touchdowns in relief while completing 15-of-21 passes.