Big 12
West Virginia May Benefit from Arizona Being Even More ‘Banged Up’
The Mountaineers are banged up, but they are playing an Arizona team that might actually be worse off injury wise. In fact, eight of the 11 starters that opened the season on Arizona’s defense have missed time this season, with several enduring season-ending injuries.
Most notably, the Wildcats have lost three key players in recent weeks. Those players are preseason All-Big 12 linebacker Jacob Manu, nickel back Treydan Stukes and safety Gunner Maldonado, who Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said needs surgery during his weekly press conference on Monday.
Arizona’s defense is littered with injuries.
Arizona DC Duane Akina compared the elevated roles of DB Genesis Smith, linebacker Taye Brown and others to a little brother becoming “the big brother in the house now.”
“They gotta emerge.”https://t.co/mkjCaKnrVw
— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) October 24, 2024
Manu’s injury falls in the category of being the most frustrating for fans – he suffered a leg injury while celebrating a third down stop against Colorado last week.
Defensive coordinator Duane Akina won’t sugarcoat the impact of losing a player like Manu.
“I’m not going to short that we’re losing a great football player.”
But like any coach, he demands the “next man up” mentality from his players and will try to get everything he can out of those on the field.
“Like we’ve said, we just need to pick up the flag and keep marching forward. Next man up, I know everyone says that, but it happened,” said Akina.
“We just gotta worry about ourselves. For us on the defensive side of the ball, because there are a lot of names you have never heard before, what can they do? What can the backups do? That’s where you have to be realistic, because we can draw a bunch of lines on the board, but what can we get executed? That’s where I’m at right now. We gotta know what we can execute and not worry about their situation.”
For a refresher on West Virginia’s injuries….
WVU head coach Neal Brown also provided injury updates for his own players at the top of his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon as well.
Here’s the quick rundown Brown provided for the Arizona game.
Wyatt Milum – OL: “Too early to tell.”
Garrett Greene – QB: “Too early to tell.”
Jahiem White – RB: “Feel good about.”
Jaden Bray – WR: OUT
Aubrey Burks – Spear: OUT
Ayden Garnes – CB: “Hopeful.”
WVU HC Neal Brown Gives Injury Updates on Greene, White, Others
After the Kansas State loss, Brown made it known that his team was “severely banged up.”
“It’s a rash of head injuries, four of them in total. I didn’t talk to (Assistant Athletics Director/Head Athletic Trainer) Vince (Blankenship), our athletic trainer, because he was so busy after the game. I try to talk to him usually before I come up here but he was tied up, but four of them at least,” said Brown about the injuries after the game.
Backup quarterback Nicco Marchiol took over for Greene in the second half, completing 6-of-13 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. He attempted nine carries, resulting in zero yards on the ground. Marchiol confirmed he learned Greene was out shortly before going out to the field for the second half.
With White out, CJ Donaldson finished the game with 34 yards on 12 rushes.
WV Sports Now will provide more updates as they are revealed prior to kickoff on Saturday.
On Sunday, DraftKings set Arizona as a slim favorite in their opening line for the first meeting between the schools as Big 12 foes. The line has since moved more towards Arizona as a 3.5-point favorite on most sports books.
For a related story, the West Virginia Mountaineers are staying focused and remain confident despite losing record.
