MAILBAG: Waiver Prediction, Position Battles, Jahiem White Expectations + More

Good Monday morning, Mountaineer fans! It's time to crack open this week's West Virginia On SI mailbag.

From @DAllen5WV:

Q: If you had 1 reason to be positive and one to be negative about this upcoming season, what would they be?

A: Ooh, I like this one. Positive: The accountability factor. I know it's not centered on the actual football, but it will show on the field. Way too often in years past, the team was undisciplined in many aspects of the game. A big part of that, in my opinion, is that the staff didn't do nearly a good enough job of holding players to a certain standard. I don't think that will ever be a concern with this staff. The negative? Chemistry — and that can be across the board. How long does it take for the o-line to learn how to gel together? What about the running backs to trust the o-line to create certain creases? The timing between the quarterbacks and receivers. How long before the d-line understands how to play off one another? The secondary and how they communicate...there's just way too many unknowns that should scare the living daylights out of Mountaineer fans.

From @WVU_Sports_Fan:

Q: I assume you will have a dedicated story eventually regarding Pitt predictions, but how confident should the Mountaineers feel about week 3? To me, it feels like Pitt is nearly confirmed a mediocre team, they have to come into Morgantown, and RR team should be supercharged..

A: I'm going to give you a Rich Rod-like answer here and say that I don't really know much about Pitt right now and haven't done much digging into them. A couple of weeks ago, I spent four to five days jotting down notes of all 16 Big 12 teams to form my preseason power rankings. Here in the coming days, I plan to take a couple of days to understand what challenges Robert Morris, Ohio, and Pitt all present, although I'll likely be glossing over Bobby Mo. Just because it's a home game and everyone should be super amped up, I like WVU's chances. However, there is such a thing as being too juiced up.

From @EERSBeers:

Q: What position group has surprised you the most and what position group leaves a little to be desired after the first few practices?

A: Well, unfortunately, we really have to rely on Rich Rod's comments to gauge how things are going, but I'm a little surprised at how the running backs have been picked on a couple of times throughout these first handful of practices, but that could be because there are such high expectations for that room. The offensive line earning praise is something I most certainly did not have on my list for week one.

From @ShawnMoore8881:

Q: With Zac's success with his defense, keeping his teams close in games. What's your opinion that his success this year has to be the biggest factor for WVU to win games?

A: Oh yeah, it's monumental. There's no downplaying it. It's going to take a few weeks for the offense to find itself and get into a rhythm. The defense has some of the same issues, but they don't have to worry about the timing element; they can just react. If they can be a middle-of-the-road defense in the Big 12, they should be good enough to go bowling.

From @CkNiTisLeGiT:

Q: Do you expect Harrington, Robinson, Edwards, and Weimer to receive a waiver? If so, what do you think the timeline looks like? Certainly makes me nervous with the season approaching.

A: I've got to be honest, the deeper we get into fall camp, the less optimistic I get. I couldn't predict any of their situations, even though I know the staff feels pretty good about it. There's no model of consistency with the NCAA, and when you're putting matters in their hands, there's no telling where they'll end up. I just think it's ridiculous they can't practice while they wait. Who does it harm? You can expect these cases to go to court.

From @DoubleDinWV:

Q: Will the receiving core produce a 750-yard pass catcher?

A: Oh, man. That's a really good over/under number. I do believe Cam Vaughn and perhaps one other could push that total, but I'm going to lean with the under. Assuming they have enough healthy, capable backs, they're going to run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball. It will help hide some of the uncertainties of the passing game early on while also helping the defense out. Running the ball is also Rich Rod's bread and butter. When you feel uneasy or uncertain about something, you always lean back on what you know best.

From @RussTaylor304:

Q: Do you think Jahiem White could rush for 1000+ yards this season with Rich Rod's offense?

A: Oh, yes. Absolutely! This is, of course, assuming he stays healthy. Jaylan Knighton, Tye Edwards*, Kannon Katzer, and others will share the workload, but White will still be the featured back in this offense. The way I look at it is he averaged 843 yards in Neal Brown's offense — now imagine the kind of numbers he can post in Rich Rod's.

From @TomTheLoud:

Q: Describe the overall vibe inside the building now, in one or two words.

A: Cautiously optimistic.

From @EFarley38:

Q: Week 2, who do you expect to start standing out from their peers at their respective positions?

A: I don't know how much separation we'll see, but I'd expect the veterans will start to create a bit of a gap at quarterback, meaning Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson, and Max Brown. Where we'll see the most separation is in the trenches. Getting the pads on, you start to get a pretty good understanding of who is good and ready to go, and who is good in shorts and shells. The same can be said for the receivers and cornerbacks, who can handle the physicality?

From @wi_thompson:

Q: This year's defensive staff seems much more together with their plan, scheme, and overall excitement on what they will bring on game day compared to last year’s debacle. What do you see as a positive and a concern with the defense this year?

A: That's a great point. Yeah, I think the previous regime was too centrally focused on their base defense and didn't really expand to more advanced things. Part of that was based on the personnel, but Jordan Lesley banked on his base working, and obviously, it didn't. The positive is actually something that the offense has, or will, help them with — conditioning. There's not going to be an uptempo offense or a game late in the fourth quarter where they have hands on hips and sucking air because they've gone against it all throughout fall camp. Schematically, Alley brings so many exotic looks, and no game plan will ever be the same. You truly have no idea as to what he's going to do on a given week, which makes life hard on offensive coordinators. The only concern I have is the players being overloaded with information and thinking too much instead of just playing. Alley is putting a ton of stuff in, and that could be a problem for some guys.

To participate in next week's mailbag, send me a DM on X (@Callihan_) reply to my tweet asking for submissions on Saturday, or place your question in the comments section under my poston Facebook.