Saturday, August 24, 2019

Projecting the Top Offensive Playmakers for WVU in 2019

The 2019 College Football regular season is nearly upon us as WVU opens their season in Morgantown against the James Madison Dukes one week from today.

One aspect is certain when it comes to this year's Mountaineer squad: the team is losing a huge chunk of offensive production from last year. 2018 leading receivers David Sills and Gary Jennings, along with Heisman Trophy candidate Will Grier are all gone with new homes in the NFL. Additionally, WVU is going through a large change with the arrival of new Head Coach Neal Brown and company. That being said, let's take a look who is likely to carry the load offensively this year for WVU.

Kennedy McKoy (#6)
                                           Photo Credit: Ben Queen of USA Today Sports                                   

Senior running back Kennedy McKoy was the team's leading rusher a year ago, finishing with 802 yards and 8 touchdowns. With 1,870 total career yards rushing to go with 19 touchdowns, McKoy's production has gone up consistently each season since being with the Mountaineers. New Head Coach Neal Brown praised McKoy in his latest press conference, mentioning his "toughness" and how "he's played at a high level in this conference before." McKoy finished 8th in the Big 12th last season in rushing yards per game, averaging 66.8 yards on the ground. Oh, and he can catch the ball too.

The Other Three Running Backs (Martell Pettaway, Leddie Brown & Alec Sinkfield)


Mountaineer fans should not sleep on any of these guys. Pettaway (#32), who's also a senior, showed out in the thriller against Texas last season, finishing the game with 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Coach Brown has spoken highly of Leddie Brown (#4), mainly complimenting him as "consistent." The sky is seemingly the limit for the sophomore out of Philadelphia.

While Sinkfield (#20) has not had as many career touches as the other backs, he certainly has a chance to breakout this season. The sophomore was also listed as the punt returner in the summer depth chart and figures to be featured prominently in the passing game.

Running back should be a major strength position-wise for WVU this season. Each are returning players and each have proven they can be productive. However, inexperience at the quarterback position along with a questionable offensive line leaves uncertainty for how well this stable can perform in 2019. Even still, #6 stands to lead the pack.

Tevin Bush (#14)


 He's been compared to Tavon Austin. However, many would likely agree that the junior from New Orleans, Louisiana simply isn't the same player as #1 was. But that's okay, because the 5-foot-6 athlete can still ball.

Bush experienced increases in production and playing time from his first year to the 2018 season, going from just four catches for 15 yards receiving for the former to 14 catches for 209 yards during the latter. Bush also finished last year with 103 yards rushing, including a spectacular 79-yard-run against Baylor in week nine.
While being so high on Bush is a bit of a bold prediction, the quick and elusive junior should be utilized in Coach Brown's offense, especially in the open field. Fans should keep their 👀 out for #14 this season.

T.J. Simmons (#1)


                            Photo Credit: William Wotring of The Dominion Post & WV MetroNews

The 6-foot-2, 199-pound junior from Birmingham, Alabama is expected to lead this year's young receiving squad. Simmons was originally recruited by football powerhouse Alabama but transferred to WVU, first seeing action in 2018 after sitting out the previous year for transfer rules.

Regarding the perceived lack of star power for WVU this year, Simmons acknowledged that the team features "a lot of unknowns" compared to last year's star-studded team. "I feel like we got a lot of good players that can be great and whenever we get out on the field we're gonna show everybody that we got a team full of stars," Simmons said about this year's team.

Simmons is coming off a season where he caught 28 balls and racked up 341 receiving yards.

"I want to prove that I'm a top guy in the country, that I'm a team guy and a good leader" Simmons said, regarding what he has to prove in 2019.

Other Receivers to Watch


 These include Isiah Esdale (#88), Temple transfer Sean Ryan (who just had his waiver request to play this season approved; #18), freshman Sam James (#13) and senior Florida State transfer George Campbell (#15). The quarterback and the guys up front need to do their part for this young receiving corps to excel in the passing game.


Quarterback Play


Speaking of the quarterback, we now know who will start week 1. Graduate transfer from Oklahoma Austin Kendall (#10) earned the nod per Coach Brown this past week. While Kendall has not had the opportunity to play much football sitting behind two Heisman Trophy winners at OU, he was efficient when he took the field.

It will be interesting to see how Kendall performs. With a new coaching staff, a likely scenario sees a drop in QB production when compared to last year (an unfair comparison I know) but with two years of eligibility left for Kendall to play, development is possible.





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