West Virginia’s receiver room is still sorting itself out, but one name has clearly separated from the pack through the first three days of practice: Jaden Bray.
Rich Rodriguez said Bray is “leading the group there,” and the staff is even moving him around a bit more. That included his first work in the slot on Tuesday.
Rodriguez also pointed to Bray’s workload-tracking numbers, saying, “We GPS our guys, and Jaden will be the guy that gets more yards than anybody. He’s just a hard worker and a good football player.”
That kind of praise carries weight because Bray has had to fight through his own injury issues over the past two years, mostly tied to the same foot problem. Now, though, he says he’s past it.
“I try not to think about it at all," Bray said about the foot. "The more you think about it, the more timid you are, more slow you’re running, so you probably get hurt if you’re always thinking about it.
Just going out there and doing everything full speed. I feel great.
Just staying in rehab and everything like that. The strength staff does a great job making sure I’m doing okay, and yeah, I feel 100%.”
While Bray has been taking on a bigger role, Prince Strachan has been limited by an injury, opening the door for others to grab more reps. There’s no timetable for his return, and no additional details have been given, but it does not appear to be a major issue. Strachan suffered an upper-body injury in the spring game while diving for a catch, and it’s not clear whether he’s still working back from that or dealing with something new.
That has created opportunity, especially for true freshman Landon Drumm, who is making the most of the extra work.
Rodriguez said the staff still sees plenty of playable options in the room, with the next three weeks of practice expected to help sort out the real rotation. He believes the group could settle into six or seven regular contributors, even though there are probably eight or nine players who can make a case right now.
Among the others drawing notice are John Neider, DJ Epps and Cyrus Traugh. Rodriguez said Neider can help because of his experience, while Epps has put together good practices and also brings experience. Traugh, an in-state player, has been flashing enough to earn mention as well.
“I think we’re going to be able to have six or seven guys that play pretty actively in the rotation,” Rodriguez said.
Traugh already made an impression in the spring and finished it by winning the Tommy Nikolich Award. If he keeps stacking days like this, the staff may not have much choice but to keep him in that mix.
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