MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a 5-7 season, West Virginia’s offense was statistically average in many ways this past fall. The Mountaineers ranked 58th out of 131 Division I teams in total offense at 399 yards per game. WVU ranked 69th in passing yards per game and 54th in rushing offense.
In announcing his latest recruiting class at WVU, head coach Neal Brown hinted that the team’s offense in 2023 may have a different look based on returning and incoming personnel.
“As we evolve offensively, that was something that was really important to us, to have some tight ends that have the ability to catch the football down the field vertically, and some running backs that have versatility,” Brown said.
As of now, all four scholarship running backs are slated to return in 2023.
“The running back room is going to be really talented. The signs of a really quality offensive coach is that you take the pieces you have, and they are going to be a little bit different each year, you take those pieces and you get the most out of them. We’re going to have multiple pieces at running back so we need to get more than one running back on the field. To do that, you have to have some guys that can do different things.”
The quartet will be joined by a pair of freshmen, DJ Oliver and Jahiem White.
“DJ Oliver is a big, power back. But he can run. I saw him do a back flip at 240-plus pounds. That’s pretty athletic. And he catches the ball pretty well.
“When [White] was at our camp two years ago, he didn’t feel like the linebackers were giving him a good enough look. So he went and lined up to play slot receiver. We would have signed him there too.”
With six running backs on scholarship and WVU’s top four receivers from 2022 moving on, players in the backfield could be much more involved in the passing game.
“CJ [Donaldson]’s story has been told a lot. He was an inside receiver and kind of an H-back in high school. So he is a great, not good, a great route runner. Jaylen Anderson, they played empty a lot at Perry High School. So he ran routes and they threw him go balls. Tony [Mathis] and Justin [Johnson] have both progressed here where they can be active, not only in the backfield, but split out.”
Five members of WVU’s Class of 2023 hail from Pennsylvania. Two of the most highly-decorated prospects come from the Keystone State. Brown said that receiver Rodney Gallagher and linebacker Josiah Trotter were early indicators of the group’s strength.
“It was huge for us to get [Gallagher] early. He was here a lot. He’s got really good relationships with guys on the team and with multiple staff members. For him and Josiah [Trotter] to commit in a relatively short time frame there, those guys really helped grow the class. They did their part to keep it together as well.”
As the program endured a 5-7 season and a transition to a new athletic director in Wren Baker, the class remained largely intact.
“Through all the turmoil, we really had two decommitments and we added some really good players, even during this. There’s been some challenging and some tough times. But they stayed committed because of the relationships we’ve built within this program and within this building. Also, there’s belief in the vision.
“Sometimes it is not that easy to have hard conversations. But how we handled that while there wasn’t an athletic director in place, while we had that three-game losing streak, we were pretty upfront. We didn’t try to run away from that. It is not like we didn’t communicate. I thought our staff did a good job just staying in communication.
“Kudos to Wren [Baker] too. Wren came and has been really active. He has talked to multiple recruits. He has been a participant in the process here going down the stretch.”
WVU will continue to comb through the transfer portal to address glaring needs in time for the 2023 season. Despite national trends that favor quick fixes from the portal, Brown still believes high school recruiting is the best avenue for the Mountaineers to achieve sustained success.
“Even as the world changes in college football, and it has changed a lot in two years. I still think our best opportunity to be successful at West Virginia is to be a developmental program. There’s going to be those moments where you develop a really good player and you might lose him. But those few occurrences should not deter us from what our real objective should be, which is to bring guys in like we have done way before I was here and develop guys through processes and through infrastructure.”