Five Reasons Why WVU Can Exceed Expectations in 2022

Can the Mountaineers shock the world this fall? It's possible.

The media picked West Virginia to finish 8th in the Big 12 Conference and according to several sportsbooks, the win total for the Mountaineers is set at 5.5. Clearly, the expectations for this team are extremely low and with all the attrition this roster saw in the offseason, it's not hard to see why.

Despite the national perception of this year's team, there are plenty of reasons for optimism in 2022. 

Explosive offense

JT Daniels is the most talented player that Neal Brown has had at the quarterback position since arriving in Morgantown and it's not even close. His familiarity with Graham Harrell's offense should accelerate the transition and give WVU a chance to win games right out of the gate versus any other ordinary transfer who would need several weeks into the season to get acclimated.

Secondary is better than people think

If you look at what West Virginia has returning in the back end, you're probably envisioning a group that is susceptible to getting carved up on a weekly basis. Sure, losing two starters (Nicktroy Fortune and Daryl Porter Jr.) hurts but the additions of Rashad Ajayi, Wesley McCormick, and Jaylon Shelton aren't getting talked about enough. Neal Brown said back at Big 12 Media Day that this secondary will surprise a lot of people and I think he's spot on.

Winning the trenches

West Virginia is loaded with experience on both the offensive and defensive lines with a number of returning starters. Matt Moore returns all five guys on the o-line and two of those guys, Zach Frazier and Wyatt Milum, were named freshman All-Americans in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Those two are a year older and will have two veteran guards alongside them in James Gmiter and Doug Nester. 

Flipping over to the defensive side, Dante Stills and Taijh Alston are as about experienced as it gets. Stills enters his fifth year in the program while Alston is set to embark on his sixth, yes, sixth season of college football. Defensive line coach Andrew Jackson told reporters earlier this week that he has 9-10 guys he can rotate in and said that he would have a hard time making decisions as to who to play if they were to line up and play today. That's a good problem to have. 

Neal Brown can effectively do his job now

Anytime you add more help to your coaching staff, the more it frees you up to oversee the entire operation. After three years of an offense clearly stuck in neutral, Brown did the right thing by giving up play-calling duties and hired Graham Harrell. Not only does this hire give WVU's offense and identity, but it also allows Brown to become more of a CEO which will allow him to thrive.

Wide-open league

Unlike years past, I don't see one dominant team that everyone is going to be chasing in 2022. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Baylor all have talented rosters but each of them have major question marks. Does Oklahoma take a step back without Lincoln Riley/Caleb Williams? Can Oklahoma State replace several starters on what was considered to be one of the best defenses in school history with a new coordinator? And how does Baylor respond to having the target on their back with a young, inexperienced quarterback?

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