Three True Freshmen Who Will Make an Impact in 2021

West Virginia has a few young stars in the making.

The Mountaineers return a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball in 2021 but that won't stop head coach Neal Brown from finding a role for some of his most prolific freshmen. Three true freshmen are expected to play a big role for WVU this season and they all happen to be on the offensive side and were also the Mountaineers' top three recruits in the 2021 class.

RB Justin Johnson Jr.

Leddie Brown runs the show in the Mountaineer backfield but with Alec Sinkfield transferring to Boston College, WVU has little experience returning at running back. Tony Mathis is projected to be the No. 2 back but Justin Johnson Jr. has been giving him a run for his money. Regardless of where Johnson lands on the depth chart, he will see some touches as he gets rotated into the game. 

Analysis from running backs coach Chad Scott:

"First of all, pass protection is the toughest responsibility for a young running back. The recognition of it and then the actual, physical picking it up and picking up bigger guys that you ain't never picked up in your life but he's done a phenomenal job at both of them. Phenomenal balance, great vision, and since I've been with Coach Brown, he's probably had the best summer of any freshman that we've been around. Weight room, academic, and to see him carry that over into fall camp, it's been really pleasing. He's picked up on the offense really well."

WR Kaden Prather

Prather has some high expectations placed upon him and rightfully so. I haven't seen WVU land a receiver this talented since Stedman Bailey and there's a chance he could leave as one of the school's best to ever do it. Obviously, it's not going to happen right away as he learns behind Bryce Ford-Wheaton but you're going to see some flashes of the player he will turn out to be which is a future WR1. Prather has incredible hands, runs crisp routes, has a good feel for the soft areas of coverage, and can be a factor in all three levels of the passing game - underneath, intermediate, and downfield. The skills are there for him to blossom into a top receiver in the Big 12 early in his career.

Analysis from head coach Neal Brown:

"He is definitely talented and I think that's a position where he can play, he's hungry, and I'm eager to see how he progresses."

Analysis from wide receivers coach Gerad Parker:

"He's much further along mentally and the knowledge of what we're doing which allows him to play faster. Now, he's at that point where the speed of it all is still a surprise to those guys. So, day one we were just like 'hey, take a deep breath, calm down' and day two was a lot better. It'll continue to slow down for him."

OL Wyatt Milum

Zach Frazier started as a true freshman on the offensive line a year ago and now, Wyatt Milum is looking to do the same. Milum is currently competing for the starting right tackle job with Parker Moorer - another guy the coaching staff is high on. Milum will undoubtedly be a multi-year starter, it's just a matter of if he's ready to handle the responsibilities of a starter this fall or if he needs just a little more time to develop.

Analysis from head coach Neal Brown:

"The thing I love about Wyatt is he plays with a motor. He plays hard, he's extremely athletic, he stays in good football position all the time The game is fast for him right now and he's getting challenged by some really good defensive linemen but I think he's up for it. He's a guy that's definitely going to contribute this year."

Analysis from offensive line coach Matt Moore:

"I think they're very similar personality-wise (Frazier & Milum). Like, they don't get rattled about much, they're very competitive, they understand the game, so they're very similar people. When you put 65,000 people out there, I mean, I didn't know what Zach was going to do either. He went in his first game and y'all saw him play and he played really well. I feel like Wyatt will do the same but we will see."

Bonus: S Davis Mallinger + S Aubry Burks

Mallinger may be one of if not the fastest dudes on West Virginia's roster. His speed alone is going to help him see the field on special teams and potentially on defense once he gets a firm grasp of the playbook. According to co-defensive coordinator ShaDon Brown, Aubrey Burks is probably a little further ahead of Mallinger in terms of knowing where to be, what his responsibilities are, and so on. Brown says from a depth perspective, they need these two guys to be ready.

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