3 Key Positional Battles to Follow During WVU Football Training Camp

The WVU football team has brought in 33 new players and lost 23 players to the transfer portal, which means it makes sense that there will be some key positional battles to follow this training camp.

Using the depth chart released by the team, here are our top three to watch when the team starts training camp on Monday.

Quarterback

The quarterback position is the most important position to be filled this training camp, even if the statements from Neal Brown and company feel mostly exaggerated over how much high-profile transfer JT Daniels needs to prove to earn the starting spot.

In addition to Daniels, highly-touted four-star recruit Nicco Marchiol is competing for the starting job. Sophomore Garrett Greene appeared in 11 games last year, but mainly to provide a different look with his legs. Lastly, three-star 2021 recruit Will Crowder who redshirted last year as a Freshman.

Running Back

The depth chart only lists two running backs with Tony Mathis listed as the starter and Justin Johnson as the back-up. According to Rivals scholarship tracker, Jaylen Anderson is the only other running back on scholarship.

One of these three will be tasked with replacing Leddie Brown who is trying out with the Los Angeles Chargers as an un-drafted free agent. Brown had a good year last year with a 4.8 yards per carry average and 1,065 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

The run game though struggled, finishing as the worst in the Big 12 with just a 123.2 per game average. Even though Graham Harrell brings with him an air raid style offense, improving the run game still needs to be a priority to find offensive success this season.

Secondary

Almost the entirety of the secondary, which encompasses five total positions, finds it’s way here. With the only position being a certainty is Charles Woods as the team’s top cornerback.

The performance of the team’s new secondary is a big story to watch this entire season, and seeing who starts is part of that. In addition to Woods, the depth chart lists Andrew Wilson-Lamp (corner), Davis Mallinger (spear), Aubrey Burks (free safety) and Marcis Floyd (cat) as the remaining starters.

All of these positions are essentially up for grab, with not a single one being occupied by a player that started games for West Virginia in 2021. Of the players not listed as a starter to watch for, Jasir Cox is one that stands out. He is currently listed as battling for the No. 2 for the spear position with Naim Muhammad.

Cox is a transfer from FCS powerhouse North Dakota State but played linebacker there. All told, West Virginia’s spear position isn’t that much different from a linebacker and Cox is coming off the best season of his career at NDSU.

Our Mike Asti also detailed how he feels WVU fans should read Neal Brown’s current depth chart on a recent show.