Bryce Ford-Wheaton and the Pursuit of Greatness in 2022

Legacy wideout has an opportunity to ascend in 2022

You can't blame West Virginia fandom for feeling a bit, well, frustrated. Three years into Neal Brown's tenure in Morgantown, Touchdown City has experienced a prolonged period of drought in terms of offensive fireworks and, for a program that has seen its fair share of incredible playmakers over the years, it's starting to feel like the end of that drought is long overdue.

In the past 20 years alone, West Virginia has featured some absolute aces at wide receiver. Chris Henry, Darius Reynaud, Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Kevin White, David Sills V, Gary Jennings: that is an elite company to keep. As we creep ever-closer to September 1st and the renewal of the Backyard Brawl, all eyes are on the Mountaineers' offense to somehow, someway, re-discover its point-scoring alchemy and produce, once again, a headliner at the wide receiver spot.  

I say, look no further than Bryce Ford-Wheaton.

Oct 17, 2020; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton (0) runs after a catch during the third quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

The now-redshirt junior is one of the select few who suited up under current Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen. Battle-tested may be an apt description of the North Carolina native. Then again, potential-laden could be just as apt.  By now we are all familiar with his path to Morgantown, the legacy bloodlines, and the urgency to live up to that legacy in what could be his final wearing the flying WV. Of course, potential can often be a word fraught with danger and ambiguity. There are no guarantees that potential ever manifests itself into greatness but, either way, Ford-Wheaton possesses an envious degree of it.

Just this week, Bruce Feldman released his annual list of college football "freaks" and, to the surprise of no one following West Virginia, Ford-Wheaton made an appearance. At 6'3" 1/4 and 225 pounds, the size differential alone is enough to give opposing defensive backs some sleepless nights. Then you ladle on praise from OC Graham Harrell and realize just how physically impressive he truly is:

“Bryce is super talented, and he has gotten better and better since I’ve been here,” Harrell said. “He’s big and, to be as big as he is, he moves really, really well. He has almost a little guy’s skill set in a big body. I haven’t seen that very often in coaching.”

Oct 30, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton (0) catches a pass for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Iowa State Cyclones at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, we've seen this in flashes over the last three years, perhaps the most prime example coming from last year's upset win over then-ranked Iowa State. His six-reception, 106-yard outing is the kind of stat line that stands out, but it was the second of his two touchdown grabs on the day that really demonstrated just how lethal agent 0 can be. Right around the 8:40 mark in the third quarter, Jarrett Doege lofted a pass from 30 yards out and Ford-Wheaton, beating one-on-one coverage, contorted his long frame at the very back of the endzone, somehow finding purchase inside the lines and instantly creating a moment worthy of a poster. Plays like this, for better or worse, fan the flames. They create buzz. So, after years of flashes and momentary bursts, what can we expect in 2022?

To be fair to Ford-Wheaton, along with the rest of returning skill players lining up in Graham Harrell's version of the Air Raid, the issues have been litany. Poor quarterback play coupled with an offensive line that has struggled to gel unsurprisingly has resulted in, well, tepid results across the board. Last season alone, West Virginia ranked 88th nationally in total offense and 93rd in average yards per play. Chapter and verse, the story of Neal Brown's time in Morgantown has been marked by inconsistent and downright broken offense. With a fully intact offensive line returning in 2022, as well as a possible superstar under center in JT Daniels, this could well be Bryce Ford-Wheaton's season of ascendence. 

Nov 20, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton (0) makes a catch and runs for extra yards during the first quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium / Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

It also helps that he's flanked by fellow veteran Sam James and prodigious newcomer Kaden Prather. As far as wish-lists go, it's hard to ask for a more diverse line-up than what West Virginia will feature at receiver this year. While Ford-Wheaton possesses that rare combination of size and speed, James is an absolute scram jet who can run with anyone in the country. Alternatively, Prather, who as a true freshman last year had his own share of highlights that felt eerily reminiscent of the late/great Chris Henry, is a long, fluid athlete that seems to just find a way to get open. That's a lot to account for, defensively.

Further, history shows that all it takes is one special year to cement a legacy. It wasn't so long ago that Kevin White turned in a historic senior campaign that culminated in a top-10 selection in the NFL draft. White, like Ford-Wheaton, bullied opposing defenses that year with a preposterous combination of size, speed and strength. If he wasn't climbing the ladder over defenders, he was going warp speed on a tunnel screen, uncatchable. Bryce Ford-Wheaton has all of those tools and, I dare say, can be that player.

The Mountaineers need star power. They need it right now, in the worst possible way. It's not out of line to say that Neal Brown's seat is warming and the tension within Mountaineer nation is palpable. The way things are set up heading into the season, there appears to be no lack of opportunity to right the ship and start re-engineering West Virginia's winning ways. Rivalry games on the road against Pitt and Virginia Tech, coupled with a Big 12 conference that is question mark riddled as it's ever been is, if nothing else, a tantalizing prospect for this team and its leaders.

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

If I'm Bryce Ford-Wheaton, I'm grinning ear to ear.

Physical gifts aside, the Fuquay-Varina native has much more to prove. What better way to kickstart that quest than by walking into Pittsburgh and putting on a show in front of a sold-out, rabid crowd? What better way to honor the legacy in place than by beating your archrival on their own turf for the first time in over a decade?

Because for Bryce Ford-Wheaton, perhaps more so than any other player wearing Gold and Blue, legacy stands atop everything. Whether it's the family mantle carried by his grandfather Garrett, Sr. and later by his uncle Garrett, Jr. or the program heritage seeded by names like Bailey, Henry, White and Saunders, Ford-Wheaton is charged with something momentous: Carry the torch, lead an offensive renaissance and etch your name alongside that elite company.

With any luck, we'll never speak of Bryce Ford-Wheaton's potential ever again. All we'll need to say will be writ large out on the turf, between the lines, a blazing-gold zero on the signature line.     

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