Rich Rodriguez Delivers Good Injury News on Several Key WVU Players

West Virginia should be at or near full strength vs. the Cowboys.

Sep 19, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Jaden Bray (5) before a snap during the third quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There were a few moments when West Virginia fans were holding their breath during last weekend's game against Virginia, seeing starting left guard Nick Krahe and wide receiver Jaden Bray exit the game, as well as reserve tight end Cam Ball.

Krahe received a heavy tape job and did return to the game after missing a few series to finish things out, and he played well. Bray was banged up when he came down hard after pulling down a 50/50 ball late in the fourth quarter, which ended up being a massive play. There was a penalty on Virginia, so it still would have worked out, but they picked up more yardage with the catch, and it was nice to see Bray make one of those plays in a game that we've heard him make so many of in practice over the years.

WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez provided an update on how those three are doing and their status for this week's home contest against Oklahoma State.

“Nick Krahe will be a little limited in practice this week, but he should be okay to go. Cam Ball got knocked out, but we think he should be able to play Saturday. (Jaden) Bray got a little bit of a hip bruise. He’ll be a little limited today, but he should be good to go by tomorrow. Nate (Gabriel) is fine too.”

Because of how tight the game was, Rich Rod was probably not planning to go beyond Cam Cook and Amari Latimer at running back, but he did note that Martavious Boswell had a banged-up shoulder and that Talley was still working his way back from that tweaked hamstring he had in the opener.

"Both of those guys should be good to go this weekend, which will be good. Lawrence Autry is there and healthy as well.”

Rodriguez also mentioned that USC wide receiver transfer Prince Strachan was limited last week, so the plan was really to just get his feet wet and be smart with him in his return to the field. His workload should increase this Saturday.

“Last week was kind of the first week back fully, and he played a little bit, but he’ll have a full week of practice this week, and I expect him to be in there a little bit more. He’s a big, physical guy and a good football player, so that was kind of a first game for him. His role is going to increase, of course, starting this weekend.”