West Virginia's Top Five Freshman From 2019
The 2019 season can be described as a year of growing pains for many young players. West Virginia had to depend on a lot of true freshman and redshirt freshman in major roles throughout the season. Here are five freshmen that showed promise in 2019 and should be a big part of the team moving forward.
OL James Gmiter
The offensive line was one of the most inconsistent units on the team in 2019 and at times, was hard to watch. However, redshirt freshman James Gmiter showed he is capable of being a part of turning the run game around in 2020. The former defensive lineman converted to offensive guard and held his own against some really good defensive lineman in the Big 12. Gmiter has likely already locked up a starting spot for next season.
S Tykee Smith
Smith provided the Mountaineers with a ton of consistency and production in the secondary. He finished the season with 50 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and one sack. His coverage skills are way ahead of where true freshman are and that will be something that he continues to build off of this off-season. Smith is already a playmaker and if he continues on this trend, he could play himself into a middle round draft selection later in his career.
S Kerry Martin Jr.
One of the most overlooked players on the defense is Kerry Martin Jr., who had a quietly good freshman campaign. He tied Tykee Smith with the most tackles by a freshman this season with 50. Martin started in two games but saw the field a lot in a backup role. With Norwood graduating, I expect Martin will takeover that starting role at free safety.
WR Sam James
There was not a more explosive player on the Mountaineer offense than Sam James. The scary thing is, he's just scratching the surface of the player he can ultimately become. Drops were a big downfall for him in his first full season, but if he can improve on that, he could easily become one of the league's most dynamic players at the position.
WR Ali Jennings
With the offensive struggles this year, Jennings was able to start earning more playing time throughout the latter half of the season. He finished with 19 receptions for 192 yards and a touchdown and maybe his most impressive play was a catch he made against Oklahoma due to an offensive pass interference call that was well, not the best in the world. Jennings will likely compete for a starting spot next year if he has a solid spring.
