Rich Rodriguez Identified the WVU Position Group That Could Show the Most Improvement

Much of West Virginia's 2026 roster is new, but when it comes to the wide receiving corps, it's full of new faces.

Oftentimes, when you have such a large turnover, even at one position, you can have a sour feeling in your stomach, simply from the unknown.

Do you have enough talent in there? Did you add enough playable bodies in there? Do the guys you did fit your system? All those types of thoughts run through your mind as a coach.

While there is probably some level of concern with that group, WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez is intrigued with what exists there, especially since there is some experience spanning across various levels of college football.

“The wide receiver room, I think, has got a chance to show the most improvement," Rodriguez said at Big 12 Media Day. "Jaden (Bray) being healthy to start, DJ Epps, who’s played, is very productive, and John Neider, those guys are highly productive guys at wide receiver. I think we’ve got more experience, even though it doesn’t look like we’ve got more experience. We’ve got more experience at wide out than we’ve had.”

The revamped room at a glance

Epps is the most dynamic of the group, and we saw a good bit of that ability back in the spring. When he gets the ball out in space, special things can happen. Don't be fooled by just the one year of production at Troy; this dude is a difference maker.

Bray is someone Mountaineer fans have been anxious to watch, hearing glowing reviews about him for the past two years, only to be sidelined with a foot injury. A couple of years ago, Bray made some insanely tough catches in fall camp, even Moss'd some dudes along the way, showing flashes of being WR1. Rich Rod felt he would be that guy a year ago, before the injury happened in Week 2. If he can stay on the field this year, the passing game will go to a whole other level.

The one guy he didn't mention, Prince Strachan, could end up being the go-to target for Mike Hawkins Jr. this fall. He combined for 578 yards and three touchdowns on 37 receptions across two seasons at Boise State before making the jump to the big stage at USC. Unfortunately, he dealt with an ankle injury and missed some time, ultimately evaporating his role. He made several big plays all throughout camp and is expected to be fully recovered from a shoulder injury that he sustained in the spring game.

Others expected to be in the mix are John Neider, TaRon Francis, Armoni Weaver-Bomar, Keon Hutchins, Kedrick Triplett, and Cyrus Traugh.

Add us as a preferred source on Google