MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Wide receiver Hudson Clement became a known commodity within West Virginia’s offense last season when the Martinsburg native hauled in 22 receptions for 480 yards with four touchdowns.
Clement expected more of himself as a redshirt sophomore, but through the first three games of this season, he’d caught seven passes for 81 yards with a TD grab against Albany.
“He’s really putting a lot of pressure on himself and the message all was to relax and play — and he did,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said Saturday after the Mountaineers rallied for a 32-28 victory against Kansas and Clement led all players with seven receptions for 150 yards.
Clement made consecutive first-quarter receptions of 38 and 39 yards that directly led to the game’s first touchdown on Jahiem White’s 1-yard run and helped the receiver ease into a game where he won often in 1-on-1 coverage against some of the more experienced defensive backs in the Big 12 Conference.
“The ball found me today. It happens that way sometimes,” Clement said. “You have to capitalize when the ball comes your way. We did that and we had a good game plan and executed.”
Clement said he sometimes adds pressure to himself in an unrealistic quest to be perfect, and perhaps that contributed to a slow start to the season.
But coming off a game where he caught one pass for 8 yards on five targets at Pitt, Clement had his most productive showing against FBS competition. It continued into the second quarter, when he brought in three passes for 46 yards to enter halftime with five receptions for 123 yards.
The Hudson Clement Game.
7 rec., 150 yards for the Martinsburg H.S. graduate in WVU’s 32-28 win over Kansas:#wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/UDCbch2nvo
— MetroNews HS Sports (@MetroNewsPrep) September 22, 2024
“He had a special season last year and you all have heard me tell you, he’s a high end player,” Brown said. “I even said it last year after Duquesne when he had the breakout [game]. I was like, ‘this is a cool story, but I’m telling you he’s a good player and this isn’t one time where he gets three touchdowns and then is not to be heard of.’
“He’s a really good player and was so hell-bent on just making sure everybody knew he was a good player that he was putting pressure on himself. My message to him was you’re a sophomore, relax and play. If you play as hard as you possibly can play, you’re going to make plays. He had a good matchup a lot and won a bunch of 1-on-1s. I’m happy for him and proud of him.”
Clement went against a pair of highly-regarded cornerbacks in Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson, and much of his first-half success came on throws toward the middle of the field where the wideout put his route-running and speed on display.
“They’re playing a little off and opening up their hips,” Clement said. “In-breakers were going to be a big thing for us this week and that was part of the game plan. That’s a credit to the coaches, too, for giving us a good game plan.”
The Mountaineers made the most of Garrett Greene’s 15 completions, which totaled a season-high 295 passing yards and helped the team overcome a run game that never got in rhythm save for Greene’s scrambles.
Fellow sophomore wideouts Traylon Ray and Rodney Gallagher also made their mark in the victory. Ray had a 52-yard reception among two catches for 70 yards, and Gallgher caught two passes for 41 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown that provided the winning points.
“They’re a good group of guys for sure, but I like our guys, too. I like our guys vs. anyone we go up against,” Clement said. “If we use what we know and use what we can do, we can go up against just about anyone.”
Greene completed 6-of-9 passes for 86 yards with two touchdowns over WVU’s final two drives that produced two touchdowns and 15 points, allowing the Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0) to rally from an 11-point deficit and avoid the 1-3 mark the Jayhawks have.
“It goes with our group we have and back against the wall, what are we going to do? We have a really tight group on offense and some of those guys have been together for a real long time,” Clement said. “We’re a close group and when adversity is in front of us, we make the big-time plays.”