West Virginia Spring Review and Starting Lineup Reveal

[smackemz]

(Morgantown, WV)  After a successful spring that saw the Mountaineers go undefeated in their scrimmage slate, coach @smackemz has announced the initial starting lineups for the 2024 season.  West Virginia will open the season next week at home vs. Mercer, before they travel to Bloomington for a week 2 matchup against the Indiana Hooisers.  The Mountaineers played 3 spring scrimmages and were able to gain a 59-27 victory over Washington State, a dramatic 31-30 walk-off upset against the vaunted Tennessee Volunteers, and a decisive 93-7 victory over the Wofford Terriers.  Mountaineer fans have been clamoring for competitive football, so interest in the program is at an all-time high after the unexpected success shown during the spring season.  WVU was such a surprise this spring that they have earned a preseason top 25 ranking coming in at number 17 in the poll.  Coach Smackemz was cautiously optimistic after the successful spring "We knew that over the past few recruiting cycles we had brought in the right group of guys to take this program to new heights.  It was just a matter of them growing together and getting those reps to improve overall.  We had a great offseason, and it feels like everyone took a bigger than expected step."  Now that the real games are starting - it's expected that Mountaineer field will be packed as the team works towards their first bowl birth in several seasons. The initial starting lineup for week 1 has been announced and is as follows: (Scheme Fits are in Italics)

 

Offensive Backfield

QB: Pocket (So) Dzanan Reid

RB: (QB) Scrambler (Speed) (Sr) Craig Guzman

FB: Blocking Sr Patrick Nuno

The backfield remains unchanged from the 2023 season as Dzanan Reid returns for his redshirt sophomore campaign.  Reid had an excellent spring campaign only throwing 1 interception, while leading an explosive offense that averaged 61 points a game. 

"Dzaz worked extremely hard in the off-season and has taken a huge leap in his skill-set.  He's really ahead of schedule, so we're looking forward to seeing how he translate that improvement into the real games.  

The rest of the backfield also doesn't contain any surprises.  Guzman finished the 2023 campaign with over 1,200 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns, while Nuno will continue to pave the way in heavy sets.  Similar to 2023 - expect to see a healthy dose of (So) Michael March-Lillard as he continues to hold down that change of pace back role.  

Receiver

WR: (RB) Receiving (Route Runner) Sr Chad Dolis

WR: Speed Sr Kevin Purcell

WR: Possession (Sr) Leo Gilbert

WR: Route Runner Sr Timothe Nix

TE: Vertical Threat (Fr) Juan Corral*

The biggest surprise in this group is the highly touted Juan Corral earning the starting tight end nod as a redshirt freshman.  Senior Timothe Nix also wins the battle for that 4th wide receiver spot over Daniel Murrary, but depending on how the season goes we could see Murray slide into a more prominent role.  

Offensive Line

LT: Pass Blocking Sr Pharoah Mikolas

LG: Pass Blocking (Jr) Gabriel Goosewich

😄 Pass Blocking (OG) (So) Daurice Van Der Hurk*

RG: Pass Blocking (Fr) Joseph Hattenbach

RT: Run Blocking (Sr) Jermon Fields

The offensive line has a mixture of experience and youth as this has been an area of focus in recruiting for the Mountaineers.  Seniors Fields and Mikolas are returning starters along with the junior Gabriel Goosewich.  Sophomore Van Der Hurk will make a position swap as he beats out incumbent starter Jack Day for the center position, while the highly touted redshirt freshman Joseph Hattenbach will man the right guard position.  

Defensive Line

LE: Run Stopper (Jr) KhaDarel Gonzalez

DT: Balanced (So) Riley Jennings

RE: (So) Robert Cabral

Gonzalez and Cabral return as starters for the West Virginia defensive line.  The word out of camp is that Riley Jennings had massive growth during his redshirt year and looks to cement himself as a star on the interior on the line. 

Linebacker

LOLB: Coverage So Tom Hinkle OR Pass Rush Jr Kareem Sierra

LILB: Coverage (OLB) Sr Chris Cecil

RILB: Run Stopper (Sr) Bradley Castillo

ROLB: Pass Rush (So) Mike Johnson

WVU's first "Or" designation on the depth chart.  Coach Smackemz mentioned that we'll see both Hinkle and Sierra make starts at the LOLB position, and matchups will determine who will get the call each game.  In the middle - we'll see utility knife Chris Cecil man the primary ILB position while the run stuffing senior Bradley Castillo will get his first crack at the starting lineup.  Finally the highly touted sophomore Mike Johnson will return as the starter at the right outside linebacker position.  

Secondary

CB: Man Coverage (Jr) Andre Bell

CB: Zone Coverage (Fr) Carl Wheeler

CB: Ballhawk (Fr) Craig Francis

CB: Zone Coverage (Fr) Michael Root

FS: Run Stopper (Sr) Ryan Davis

SS: Run Stopper (Jr) Dante Smith

The youngest group on the WVU defense.  Andre Bell leads a unit that sports 3 redshirt freshmen starters at the corner position.  3-time all conference performer Ryan Davis pairs with returning starter Dante Smith to form one of the most talented safety duos in the Big XII.  

Special Teams

K: Accuracy (Sr) Victor Pugh

P: Accuracy So Jack Greathouse

No surprises in the special teams as Pugh and Greathouse return as the starting kicker and punter respectively. 

Final Breakdown (offense / defense / special teams):
(includes 4 WRs and 4 CBs)

Seniors: 12

Juniors: 5

Sophomores: 7

Freshmen: 5

The Redshirt Report

Reports out of camp are that the following players will take a redshirt for the 2024 season. 

FS: Run Stopper Jr Kevin Gurley

K: Accuracy Sr Mike Moore

OG: Pass Blocking Fr Shaun Obin

OT: Balanced Fr Oscar Ray

WR: Speed Fr Matthew Bundick

MLB: Field General Fr Jose Arostegul

OLB: Pass Rush Fr Timothy Wilson

TE: Vertical Threat Fr Derek Bryan

DT: Nose Tackle Fr Dennis English

SS: Zone Coverage Fr Donald Cummins

FB: Blocking Fr Bradley Stradley

😄Pass Blocking Fr Thomas Esteves

CB: Zone Coverage Fr Robert Horne

CB: Zone Coverage Fr Emiliano Garcia

K: Power Fr Harry Hacker