MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s competition to replace All-Big 12 center Tyler Orlosky took a hit when redshirt freshman Jacob Buccigrossi was diagnosed with a torn ACL on Tuesday.
“I feel really bad for him,” said coach Dana Holgorsen, adding that Buccigrossi “had worked himself into our second-team center and looked really good.”
The injury reportedly occurred during Sunday’s practice as Buccigrossi pulled out to block on a screen play.
“It wasn’t a nasty injury, he just fell,” Holgorsen said.
The recovery timetable for injuries like Buccigrossi’s typically spans six to eight months, making it unlikely that he’ll be cleared at any point during the 2017 season.
Buccigrossi had positioned himself behind current starter Matt Jones. Now the top backup appears to be transfer Ray Raulerson, a junior who appeared in five games in 2015 at Tennessee.
“We’ll rep Raulerson, and we’ll try to figure out who the next one is,” Holgorsen said. “We felt like we had a good second- and third-team competition going on right there, but now we’re back to square one.”
Simms concussed
Sophomore Marcus Simms will “be out for a little while” after sustaining a concussion, exacerbating West Virginia’s lack of receiving depth.
“We’re so thin at receiver it’s sickening,” Holgorsen said. “We’ve got guys that I don’t know their names out there running routes we’re so thin.”
The Mountaineers must replace 55 percent of their receiving yardage and half their touchdowns after the departures of Daikiel Shorts and Shelton Gibson.
The team’s top returning receiver, Ka’Raun White, has yet to practice four months after breaking his leg at Iowa State on Nov. 26. Plus, redshirt freshman Steven Smothers is sitting out spring to focus on academics.
Low numbers have led coaches to give more slot reps to running backs Kennedy McKoy and Tevin Bush, tight end Trevon Wesco and fullback Elijah Wellman.
“It’s nothing that far out of the ordinary,” Wellman said. “They’re not going to put me out there in a dire situation to run a fade route or anything.”
Bosch flips sides
A two-year starter at right guard, senior Kyle Bosch has switched to the left side.
“Not sure why,” he joked. “That’s not my decision. I just get told where to go, where to stand, and that’s what I do.”
Following Orlosky’s graduation, Bosch climbed up the food chain and now looms as the line’s top veteran. Just don’t expect him to assume a new personality.
“I’ll probably do the same thing that Ty did — less is more,” Bosch said. “You don’t need to be the rah-rah guy at the position we play to get your point across. It’s more like, just do your work, don’t gripe about anything and have a positive attitude.”