Rich Rod Provides Injury Update, Believes One Player is a 'Long Shot' to Play vs. Kansas

Despite a long, physical, four-hour game that featured a ton of snaps, the West Virginia Mountaineers came out of the Backyard Brawl in pretty good shape, health-wise.

“(Tight end) Jacob Barrick might be the one (we might be without)," Rodriguez said Monday. "He got cut tackled and rolled his ankle up there toward the end of the game. (Wide receiver) Preston Fox got banged up. We think he’s got a chance to play. Jacob is a little bit more of a long shot.”

Barrick, the Martinsburg, WV native, has caught two passes for 22 yards through the first three games. While his production in the passing game won't be hard to make up for, his blocking will be. Starting tight end Grayson Barnes has been a great receiving threat, but has been a bit of a liability as a blocker.

So, who steps up in Barrick's place?

Ryan Ward - The North Carolina transfer is the most likely candidate, considering he's logged the third-most snaps (36) of the tight end group. He was a big receiving threat in high school, snatching 85 receptions for 1,823 yards and 27 touchdowns for his career. Like Barnes, he needs to improve as a blocker.

Noah Braham - I'm leaning with Braham as the other option here over Genross, solely based on the physicality that he'll play with. Not that Genross lacks physicality, but his long, lean frame doesn't give him as much of a chance as Braham, who likes to get after it.

West Virginia likes to run a fair amount of 12 personnel, so it's going to be pivotal for one of these guys to step up and play a big part in the blocking aspect of the game, serving as an extension of the offensive line, which obviously needs as much help as possible.

West Virginia will begin Big 12 Conference play this weekend on the road, taking on the Kansas Jayhawks (2-1). Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be televised on FS1.

So, who steps up in Barrick's place?

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