MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In large part due to returning production, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown likes the makeup of the Mountaineers’ receiving corps.
Four of the team’s five leading pass-catchers from 2023 are back this season, including a trio of wide receivers in Hudson Clement, Traylon Ray and Preston Fox.
Rodney Gallagher III, like Ray, a true freshman last season, will look to increase his production after catching 10 passes for 74 yards during his initiation to college football.
With those four and tight end Kole Taylor back in the fold, WVU quarterback Garrett Greene figures to already have a plethora of options at his disposal. Brown believes another one yet to take a snap at this level is capable of emerging in true freshman wideout Ric’Darious Farmer.
“DayDay Farmer is elite with the ball in his hands,” Brown said Wednesday after his team’s seventh practice of preseason camp. “We have to figure out ways to use him.”
At 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, Farmer has the stature of a slot receiver — one that’s relatively similar to Gallagher.
Yet Brown believes Farmer, a native of Melbourne, Fla., and one of the Mountaineers’ more heralded recruits in this year’s class, is capable of taking on more than what his size suggests.
“He looks thin, but he plays really strong,” Brown said. “[Head coach of Strength and Conditioning Mike Joseph] was really impressed this summer. He’s in the mid 160s and will probably play at 170 by the time we get to the season.
“But he has twitch and some explosiveness and he’s a lot stronger than maybe his body type looks, which gives him the ability to play and not just be a guy that goes in there when we’re going to give him the ball or be a decoy. He can block on the perimeter. He’s made several competitive plays and he was good [Tuesday] in 11-on-11 work. Excited about him. We liked him in recruiting. We beat a lot of people for him. He’s going to earn some playing time if he continues this.”
In nine games during his senior season at Melbourne Central Catholic, Farmer caught 18 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns and amassed an additional three scores on the ground in addition to 195 yards on 15 carries. Doubling up as a defensive back, Farmer recorded 25 tackles and returned an interception 100 yards for a TD.
That followed a junior campaign at Cocoa High School that saw Farmer haul in 63 passes for 938 yards and 10 touchdowns.
There’s understandably plenty for Farmer to learn as his acclimation to college football continues, but Brown believes his skill set and route-running help are more advanced than that of a player yet to log a snap at this level.
“Where he’s from, that’s what they do. They do 7-on-7 year round,” Brown said.
While the head coach is wary of putting too much on a newcomer, it’s certain Farmer has made a strong early impression and will have a chance to show he can handle an extensive role.
”You don’t necessarily worry about him individually,” Brown said. “You don’t worry about him from a route tree perspective. More so making sure they can win at the line of scrimmage and junction point, and then learning the other stuff that comes along with playing — in particular blocking on the perimeter and some of the adjustments that come pre-snap. That’s where the bigger learning curve is.”