Quick Facts on West Virginia
Last Year’s Record: 7-6
Location: Morgantown, West Virginia
Coach: Dana Holgorsen
Returning Offensive Starters: TE Cody Clay, QB Skyler Howard, OL Marquis Lucas, OL Tony Matteo, WR KJ Myers, OL Tyler Orlosky, OL Adam Pankey, RB Rushel Shell, WR Daikiel Shorts, RB Wendell Smallwood, WR Jordan Thompson
Returning Defensive Starters: LB Jared Barber, DL Christian Brown, LB Isaiah Bruce, CB Terrell Chestnut, S KJ Dillon, S Dravon Henry, S Karl Joseph, DL Eric Kinsey, LB Nick Kwiatkoski, CB Nana Kyeremeh, LB Edward Muldrow, DL Noble Nwachukwu, LB Shaq Petteway, DL Kyle Rose, S Jeremy Tyler, CB Daryl Worley
Yards
| Pass Yds/Gm | Rush Yds/Gm | Rec Yds/Gm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Skyler Howard | 165.80 | 28.00 | 0.00 |
| RB Rushel Shell | 0.00 | 65.67 | 11.70 |
| RB Wendell Smallwood | 0.00 | 55.54 | 25.10 |
| WR Jordan Thompson | 0.00 | 2.85 | 46.00 |
| WR Daikiel Shorts | 0.00 | 0.00 | 26.60 |
It appears to be that Howard is the guy and West Virginia has a stable of running backs that will be able to carry the load. It would not surprise me at all to see shell and Smallwood carry a significant part of the offense.
Points
| Pass Pts/Gm | Rush Pts/Gm | Rec Pts/Gm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB Skyler Howard | 12.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| RB Rushel Shell | 0.00 | 3.50 | 0.00 |
| RB Wendell Smallwood | 0.00 | 0.92 | 0.00 |
| WR Jordan Thompson | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.92 |
| WR Daikiel Shorts | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.92 |
Not a ton of returning touchdowns return. That will happen when two fantastic receivers graduate and a quarterback that was really pretty good last year. He got beat up, but he was good.
Tackles
| Solo | Assisted | |
|---|---|---|
| LB Nick Kwiatkoski | 71 | 32 |
| DB Karl Joseph | 60 | 30 |
| DB KJ Dillon | 43 | 19 |
| DB Daryl Worley | 44 | 8 |
| LB Shaq Petteway | 33 | 7 |
Kwiatoski is fantastic and that defensive backfield is scary good. Joseph and Dillon are the stars and I think I actually like Dillon a bit more as he is more of a center-fielder than a hard-hitting safety like Joseph.
Havoc
| Tackles for Loss | Passes Defended | Forced Fumbles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LB Nick Kwiatkoski | 11.50 | 4.00 | 0.00 |
| DL Noble Nwachukwu | 8.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 |
| DB KJ Dillon | 7.50 | 10.00 | 0.00 |
| LB Shaq Petteway | 5.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 |
| DB Karl Joseph | 4.50 | 4.00 | 3.00 |
Dillon makes a ton of plays on passes, although, as you can see, Joseph makes a ton of plays, jarring the ball loose and creating turnovers. And do not make me spell Nwachukwu without a cheatsheet.