MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Though frustrations have been evident during West Virginia’s three-game losing streak, Neal Brown doesn’t want to hear any foul language around the football facility. Especially not the f-word.
Freshman.
“I’ve got to stop using the F-word,” Brown said. “It’s a built-in excuse for those kids, for our staff and maybe myself. We’re a no-excuse operation. We’re playing a lot of young people. But here’s the deal: we’ve played seven games now. These guys have all gotten experience.”
Brown may not be using the word anymore, but he’s seeing it everywhere. The Mountaineers have six freshmen or redshirt freshmen listed atop the depth chart before Thursday night’s game at Baylor — receivers Bryce Wheaton, Winston Wright and Sam James, center Briason Mays, left guard James Gmiter and tight end Mike O’Laughlin.
On the other side of the ball, freshmen defensive backs Nicktroy Fortune, Kerry Martin Jr. and Tykee Smith have all earned significant playing time.
In the long-term, Brown knows this is a good thing, particularly for the youth-heavy offense.
“Offensively, I think the future is bright for us,” Brown said. “We’ve started as many as six – I’m not using the f-word anymore – we’ve got a lot of people playing for the first time. There’s a lot of hope.”
That’s especially true at wide receiver.
“Sam James is a guy I’m excited about. Bryce Wheaton is starting to come along,” Brown said. “Ali Jennings is going to be a really good player. Winston Wright is going to be a really good player.”
At the moment, the numbers don’t do the potential future explosiveness of West Virginia’s offense much justice. But Brown believes most of the necessary pieces are in place. It’s just a matter of maturation.
“I realize we haven’t played well offensively. I’m not blind to it,” Brown said. “But there’s a lot of hope on that side of the ball.”
Apparently, the time is now for that hope to reveal itself as playmaking on a more consistent basis for West Virginia’s freshm — well, whatever it is you want to call them.
“We’re not using that word anymore,” Brown said. “It’s time.”
Neal Brown pregame press conference
Time approaching for running back Mathis
The next first-year player up is running back Tony Mathis. Brown said that Mathis will dress out and travel with the Mountaineers this week, though he’s more likely to be relied upon in the final four games on the schedule.
“He’ll get carries at some point this year,” Brown said.
Mathis was limited in practice by a knee injury before returning to full speed prior to the Oklahoma game. He’s now fully healthy, and it’s showing.
“If I had to pick one guy that stood out [at practice] last week, it’s Mathis,” Brown said.
The emergence of Mathis also helps the Mountaineers in their effort to preserve a redshirt season for senior Martell Pettaway, who is currently sitting out in hopes of playing next season.