2020 WVU Football Position Previews: Specialists

Taking a look at the Mountaineer specialists heading into the 2020 season

Following the 2019 season, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown wanted to evaluate his young punters Evan Mathes and Leighton Bechdel during spring practice before making any decisions on the future of the position, also stating they had earned the right to compete for the starting job.

Unfortunately, the spring period was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and recently, Brown and his staff added immediate depth with Troy University transfer Tyler Sumpter, who handled the kicking and punting duties for the Trojans.

Prior to Sumpter’s commitment to West Virginia, Evan Staley and Casey Legg were perceived to be a lock to compete for the starting role as placekicker with Staley handling kickoffs. Now, with Sumpter on the roster, the competition is heating up, but Staley appears to still be the front-runner to handle kickoffs.

On paper, there is no doubt Sumpter will be the starting punter for the Mountaineers, but it should also be noted that there will be competition for an open spot.

West Virginia will also have to replace longs snapper Rex Sunahara with either Kyle Poland (6'2", 234 lbs) or JP Hadley (6'2", 239 lbs). Additionally, the Mountaineers will have to replace their holder, which Neal Brown likes to use his quarterbacks for this role to have the threat of a possible fake. Trey Lowe handled those duties but transferred out of the program following the 2019 season.

Punters

Tyler Sumpter (5'10", 221 lbs) 

Hometown: Hoover, AL 

Class: Redshirt-Senior

The Troy graduate transfer handled the punting duties for the Trojans the past three seasons with a career average of 42.2. Sumpter earned All-Sun Belt third team as a punter in 2018 and 2019.

Evan Mathes (6'1", 214 lbs) 

Hometown: Reston, VA 

Class: Redshirt-Sophomore

Mathes has not seen any game action. Coming out of South Lakes High School, Mathes earned Virginia 6A All-State Second Team honors at punter as a senior.

Leighton Bechdel (6'0", 207 lbs) 

Hometown: Towson, MD 

Class: Redshirt-Freshman

Bechdel was a two-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro honors as a punter and kicker and was ranked 15-best punting prospect nationally by Kohl's Kicking while also receiving a five-star rating.

Kickers

Evan Staley (6'1", 196 lbs) 

Hometown: Romney, WV 

Class: Redshirt-Senior

Staley began his career handling kickoffs and took over the placekicking responsibilities as a redshirt-freshman for an injured Mike Molina. Staley has handled kicking duties since 2018 and capped off his sophomore season setting Camping Bowl records with four made field goals and a long of 49.

Staley’s accuracy dipped during his junior campaign and that could be due to a leg injury he sustained during the season and as a result, missed four games.

Career Stats	10-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+
Evan Staley	0-0	14-14	9-11	13-22	0-2

Tyler Sumpter (5'10", 221 lbs) 

Hometown: Hoover, AL

Class: Redshirt-Senior

Sumpter earned second-team All-Sun Belt Conference as a kicker in 2018 in Neal Brown’s last year at Troy. Despite a better percentage in 2019, Sumpter didn’t receive any honors as a placekicker. He’s automatic from the 20-29-yard range during his career going a perfect 20-20.

Career Stats	10-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+
Tyler Sumpter	0-0	20-20	9-14	9-13	1-2

Casey Legg (6'4", 210 lbs) 

Hometown: Charleston, WV 

Class: Redshirt-Sophomore

Legg saw limited action during his redshirt-freshman season hitting 2-4 (Long of 51) in field goals and handled 21 kickoffs.

Kolton McGhee (6-0, 188-lb)

Hometown: Altoona, PA

Class: Redshirt-Freshman

McGee is a two-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) First Team All-State kicker and punter. As a senior at Bishop Guilfoyle High, McGee went 29-for-29 on PATs and made 7-of-8 field goal attempts as a senior, with a long of 46 yards.

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