MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — While watching West Virginia’s season-opening loss to Virginia Tech, suspended receiver Marcus Simms sent several text messages to position coach Tyron Carrier.
“He felt like he let the team down,” Carrier said. “And really, you could see it in his eyes the whole week, that he just feels so bad.”
Simms earned a starting role during camp only to be held out following a pair of DUI arrests. With one of those charges dropped, he’ll be reinstated for this week’s game against East Carolina, though it’s too late to make a difference against the Hokies.
“You kind of feel for him,” Carrier said, “but when you make those decisions, when you get caught in those type of situations, that’s what happens.”
As much as Simms missed playing, his fellow receivers missed his presence.
In a game where West Virginia’s offense took 89 snaps officially — more than 90 when you include plays negated by flags — starters Gary Jennings, David Sills and Ka’Raun White rarely left the field. The GPS data from their in-game activity-tracking sensors revealed showed the trio covering thousands of yards, a combination of running routes on nearly 60 designed pass plays, returning to the line of scrimmage and traversing the field to get lined up in formations.
“Those numbers are unheard of,” Carrier said. “If they were in the NFL they wouldn’t practice the first two days this week.”
The starting trio caught 26 passes for 357 yards and three scores. The remaining West Virginia skill players made five catches for 14 yards.
Carrier’s plan to substitute more liberally changed when he noticed quarterback Will Grier doing a double-take at a backup receiver who had entered the game. Grier promptly checked the call to the other side. That led to discussions between series in which Grier implored Carrier to “Keep my guys in.”
”I think other guys were available in that game and they could’ve helped us, but the game was so tight,” Carrier said. ”Every down felt like a tight down. It seemed like the game was always one play from getting away.
“It made it hard for me (to sub), and it shot me in the foot in the fourth quarter because my guys were like completely dead.”
That exhaustion really showed in the final seconds, on Sills’ inability to make a lunging catch in the end zone.
“I’ve never seen him try to body a ball like that,” Carrier said. “He’s usually all hands with everything. That’s nothing but fatigue.”
Simms’ return not only distributes reps, it also forces secondaries to defend the deep thirds. Some of the downfield routes against Virginia Tech required schemes that got Jennings matched up against a linebacker or Sills running a seam route from an H-back spot. Simms’ straight-line speed makes him a threat to run a simple go route on every play.
”We have good receivers with Sills, Gary and Ka’Raun, but we don’t have that 4.3 guy who can get that separation, stretch the field vertically and be that threat,” offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said. “Marcus brings that.”
The Mountaineers are 19-point favorites against East Carolina in Saturday’s home opener. Because Simms continued practicing throughout his suspension, he could factor into the game planning immediately.
Said Carrier: “I made sure his wind was up after practice.”