The View From Morgantown: Scouting the West Virginia Mountaineers

What will Penn State face at West Virginia on Saturday? Insight from a Mountaineers insider.

West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene runs with the ball while trying to avoid a tackle during the third quarter against Penn State at Beaver Stadium in 2023. / Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State coach James Franklin said he's losing "hair and sleep" about visiting West Virginia to open the 2024 season, not that he has any more hair to lose. Franklin already has coached some harrowing road openers, and Morgantown figures to be spinning for Saturday's noon start on FOX.

But what about the Mountaineers? After going 9-4 last season, West Virginia is winning some preseason raves as a Big 12 contender. Further, the Mountaineers are humming after losing 38-15 in State College last year. For the view from Morgantown, we turned to Schuyler Callihan, publisher of West Virginia on SI, for this Q&A. For more on the Mountaineers, check out West Virginia on SI.

Question: What's the temperature around West Virginia football entering this season?

Callihan: This is the most optimism the fans have had since 2018 in Will Grier’s last go-around. While the future looks incredibly bright, there are still some reasons to be concerned that last year was an anomaly thanks to a lighter schedule. This year will be the true barometer for this program under Neal Brown. Expectations are high, now it’s on him to deliver.

Question: Where is quarterback Garrett Greene in his development arc? Is he ready to lead a Big 12 contender?

Callihan: Everyone from the coaching staff, his teammates, and the folks at the Manning Passing Academy have raved about Greene’s offseason. Sure, the completion percentage looks really low in 2023, but there’s a lot behind it. He split reps with Nicco Marchiol last fall camp, played on an injured ankle for much of the season, saw two of his top four receivers leave the team before conference play begun, and had to rely on two transfers and a trio of freshmen. And maybe the biggest factor to the completion percentage is how often they took deep shots down the field. When you’re throwing it that deep that often, you’ll naturally have a low percentage. That being said, he does need to improve on the easy layups that teams give him and it appears he has.

Question: Who are some of the key offensive players surrounding Greene, and how has Jaheim White progressed?

Callihan: Left tackle Wyatt Milum hasn’t allowed a sack in nearly two years. With Zach Frazier now in the NFL, he’s the new leader in the trenches. Tight end Kole Taylor is a big, 6-7 target that Greene loves to get the ball to. He led the Mountaineers last year in receptions and tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns. Oklahoma State wide receiver transfer Jaden Bray gets all the attention and rightfully so, but Traylon Ray and former walk-on Hudson Clement are in line to have big seasons. As far as White goes, he looks like a more complete back. He’s handling pass protection better, is more effective in the passing game, and is improving in between the tackles. He may be a tiny guy, but he can pack a punch.

Question: Penn State will run a new offense that likely will try to push more explosive plays? How will West Virginia's defense counter?

Callihan: Since Neal Brown took over in 2019, they really haven’t had the personnel to be able to play press man coverage very often. They’ve primarily been a zone team, and when you’re going against elite receivers in the Big 12, that will get you exposed. Northwestern transfer Garnett Hollis Jr. is long and has good size at 6-2, easily making him the biggest corner WVU has had under Brown. They feel really good about him being able to shut down one half of the field. Meanwhile, Duquesne transfer Ayden Garnes has played equally as well. He went nearly the first two weeks of camp without giving up a catch. West Virginia is more experienced in the back end, so I expect they’ll present a lighter box more often than not to force Penn State to run it. With the linebacker group they have, they feel comfortable fitting the run game up.

Question: Is West Virginia a Big 12 title contender?

Callihan: I think so. I don’t see them as a favorite by any means, but they’re definitely in the conversation. The schedule is brutal, however. The first five games in Big 12 play are against teams picked ahead of them in the preseason poll. If they can get through that stretch with their head above water, they’ll have a chance as the back half of the schedule really lightens up.

Question: What does the game mean for Morgantown? And is there any lingering memory of Penn State's touchdown with 6 seconds left last year at Beaver Stadium?

Callihan: Oh yeah, that touchdown still has a lot of folks fired up. Although Neal Brown has never brought it up with the media, you can tell that it’s something that has not left his mind. As for the game itself, it’s massive. Winning a game like this on the national stage could be a defining moment for the program. WVU would be the center of attention on the first true weekend of college football if they were able to find a way to win and that would do wonders for recruiting. It would show that last year’s nine-win campaign was truly a launching pad into becoming nationally relevant again. This is the biggest home-opener since they hosted Ohio State in 1998 and with this being the last matchup with Penn State for the foreseeable future, WVU wants this one and they want it bad.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.