One Stat Shows Just How Much Better WVU’s Receivers Could Be in 2026

One area of improvement could make a major difference for WVU’s passing attack this fall.

WVU Athletics Communications

West Virginia's passing attack was hard to watch for much of the 2025 season, outside of a couple of games toward the end of the season. Yes, the quarterback play wasn't great, but the pass catchers didn't do a great job of helping them out.

WVU receivers had just 15 drops on the year, but they didn't make contested catches very often. As a matter of fact, they caught just 20/48 such throws (41.6%). If you are in the high 50s or low 60s, you're in good shape. So yeah, they were well off that mark last fall.

The good news is help has arrived

WVU Athletics Communications

West Virginia's leader in contested catch percentage was, as no surprise, Cam Vaughn at 57.1%. Jaden Bray was at 66%, but had just two such catches in two games, so that's not really worth counting.

The 2025 group

Cam Vaughn: 8/14 (57.1%)
Jeff Weimer: 4/10 (40%)
Grayson Barnes: 3/6 (50%)
Jaden Bray: 2/3 (66.7)
Ryan Ward: 1/1 (100%)
Justin Smith-Brown: 1/3 (33.3%)
Rodney Gallagher III: 1/7 (14.3%)
Christian Hamilton: 0/1 (0%)
Jarod Bowie: 0/1 (0%)
Cyncir Bowers: 0/2 (0%)

Total: 20/48 (41.6%)

The 2026 group

DJ Epps: 7/12 (58.3%)
John Neider: 6/10 (60%)
Prince Strachan: 5/10 (50%) — 2024 numbers from Boise, missed last year due to injury
Cyrus Traugh: 4/13 (30.8%) — 2024 numbers from YSU, did not play last year
Jaden Bray: 2/3 (66.7)
Ryan Ward: 1/1 (100%)
Cam Ball: 1/1 (100%)
Josh Sapp: 0/3 (0%)
TaRon Francis: DNP in 2025
Keon Hutchins: JUCO
Kedrick Triplett: JUCO

Total: 26/53 (49.1%)

Now, you may think this isn't a huge jump, but when you look a little deeper, it very much is. Cyrus Traugh's numbers at Youngstown State bring the overall percentage down in a big way. That was very early in his career, and he was a lot lighter than he is now. The coaching staff has raved about him dating back to the spring, and I can assure you that he has made several contested catches in practice.

But if we just zero in on the top four guys in the rotation — Bray, Strachan, Neider, and Epps — they are a combined 20/35 (57.1%). Yes, those numbers from Bray would probably look much different had he been healthy for the entire season, but likely in a good way. In his last full season at Oklahoma State, he was 7/11 (63.6%) on contested catches.

LSU transfer TaRon Francis has the build of an NFL receiver, so you'd like to think he will be able to make his fair share of tough catches, too. The top four, plus Francis coming along and the improvement of Traugh, should result in West Virginia bringing down a much higher percentage of contested balls in 2026.