COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On the off chance his mom is a loyal reader, we shan’t repeat the word West Virginia defensive lineman Reuben Jones boomed off the walls of the locker room tunnel following the Mountaineers’ 38-14 loss to Iowa State.
Rest assured, though, that it captured the spirit of the moment.
Only the most overzealous fanatics can deny that West Virginia is on a slow but nonetheless upward trajectory halfway into Neal Brown’s first season. There’s a visible tire fire emanating from the southeast side of Houston providing a weekly reminder of why the WVU program has been entrusted in better hands than it once was.
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, time is running out for that trajectory to matter to anyone in this year’s senior class, and the frustration will continue to mount.
One player has found a workaround.
Following Saturday’s game, Brown announced that Martell Pettaway will attempt to redshirt the remainder of this season so he can return next year. If the NCAA had a heart, it would grandfather Pettaway in on last year’s rule permitting players to redshirt if they play no more than four games in a season. Pettaway was forced into three games as a true freshman and would qualify to play next year under the current rules.
Counting on the NCAA to have a heart is quite a gamble, though, so instead the plan is to redshirt him the rest of the season barring injuries to other WVU running backs.
“Pettaway hasn’t had the year he wants to have,” Brown said. “He’s in a unique situation, because he only played three games freshman year. We’ve been having ongoing discussions. If everybody stays healthy, the plan is to redshirt him. We have depth at running back even though [Alec] Sinkfield went down and was unavailable in the second half. We’re probably have to see how he is. But that was the thought on why [Pettaway] wasn’t dressed.”
But for players like Jones, a graduate transfer from Michigan, there are no re-dos. This is it. And after Saturday, West Virginia’s path to a bowl game is increasingly dire.
WVU’s next two games are on the road, and happen to be against the last two unbeatens in the Big 12. WVU has never beaten Oklahoma since joining the Big 12, and there’s no reason to believe that streak will be snapped next week. Maybe there’s a chance to stun Baylor, but if quarterback Austin Kendall is out for an extended period, all bets are off on this team picking up another win.
The Mountaineers might not even be favored to beat Texas Tech, which is improving at a quicker rate than West Virginia. The Red Raiders have knocked off Oklahoma State, and stuck with Baylor for two overtimes on Saturday before finally losing.
As much as the rest of this season is about developing the likes of Tykee Smith, Kerry Martin, Winston Wright, Ali Jennings, Briason Mays and a whole host more, what happens in the next six weeks will tell us a lot about the players who won’t be around when those players are reaching their peaks.
Based on Jones’ postgame outburst, it seems unlikely that he’ll be giving up, and the same can be said for Colton McKivitz or Reese Donahue. If it’s not in the form of wins, perhaps that spirit will end up being the most important impact they can have for those Mountaineers who will have a chance to lift program back to success.