A Young Core Has Emerged, Providing a Bright Future for WVU

Rodney Gallagher, Traylon Ray, and Jahiem White are future stars.

West Virginia is on the brink of an 8-4 season as they hit the road for the final week of the season to take on the three-win Baylor Bears. There's been a lot of questions surrounding Neal Brown throughout the first four years of his tenure but finishing this season with eight, possibly nine wins could be the start of something special in Morgantown.

A big reason why the future looks so bright is because of the three highly skilled freshmen the Mountaineers have on the offensive side of the ball in wide receivers Traylon Ray and Rodney Gallagher and running back Jahiem White. 

Over the last few weeks, Ray and Gallagher have shown flashes of being high level playmakers while White looks to have the potential of being one of the best running backs the Mountaineers have had over the last 15 years. In last week's win over Cincinnati, White rushed for 204 yards and a score on 21 carries, while also reeling in a 75-yard touchdown reception.

On Monday, Coach Brown gave his thoughts on each player's future.

WR Rodney Gallagher III

"Rodney's got to continue to get stronger. This offseason is going to be big for him, he knows that. And really, continue to work on his craft running routes. He hasn't really had to do it a whole lot but he's shown the ability that he can make plays with the ball in his hands. He can break tackles, he's really elusive. When he learns and understands route running and he gets stronger, I think he's got a chance to be special."

WR Traylon Ray

"Traylon Ray has really come on. I say this every time we talk about him. He didn't get here until the end of June, so he hadn't been in college very long. I think this offseason, like when we get into spring ball, he's going to be a really different guy. He'll probably put on ten pounds and he's going to get faster. I think he's got a chance to be an elite outside receiver."

RB Jahiem White

"And then Jahiem, it's really starting to come together for him. He's not real tall, but he's strong. He's compact, he breaks tackles, he's really shifty. And I think the offseason what it's going to do for him is it's going to give him straight line speed. He's not slow right now, but I think he's going to even get faster."

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