Five Takeaways from WVU's Initial Depth Chart

A few things stood out when glancing over West Virginia's preseason depth chart.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia's preseason depth chart was revealed in the 2024 football media guide on Tuesday and after studying it, I've got some thoughts.

Six deep at receiver

We already knew that West Virginia would have several options at receiver, but to actually see it on the two-deep is impressive. Hudson Clement and Preston Fox will get the first crack at winning a starting job, but Jaden Bray and Traylon Ray will be right on their tails.

A leader at right tackle?

All spring and summer long for that matter, it felt like the battle for right tackle would carry into fall camp between Nick Malone and Jacksonville State transfer Xavier Bausley. Make no mistake, no job has been officially won at this stage of the offseason, but I am little surprised to see Malone appearing as the frontrunner instead of an "or" listed in between them. Regardless of what happens, I do believe Bausley will end up playing a bunch and perhaps the two split starting duties.

Trotter listed first

The coaching staff felt like Josiah Trotter would have played a significant role as a true freshman, but never had the opportunity due to suffering an injury last spring. Now, he and sophomore Ben Cutter will duke it out for the starting WILL linebacker spot. Two things here: One, I figured Trotter would be at MIKE and two, how about Trotter being listed first? Let's not put too much into this since the famous "or" is featured between he and Cutter. That said, it's encouraging to see that the injury didn't impact his overall ability or potential once he returned to full health. Both he and Cutter will see a TON of snaps.

Burks to spear

We saw the coaching staff flirt with this move in the spring, but Burks denied that it would be a full-time move. He'll see some action at free safety, but it makes sense to get him closer to the action. This is a spot West Virginia has had a difficult time getting production out of and sliding Burks here should fix that.

Spells appears

Neal Brown mentioned back in the spring that Jacolby Spells' injury could spill over into the season. With his name listed in the two-deep, it's a good indicator that they expect him back at some point and shouldn't missed the majority or all of the 2024 season.

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