The Mountaineer Football Team suffered a major blow when Evan Staley was injured during a kickoff last Saturday against Kansas State. The redshirt senior from Romney is now out for the season, meaning kicking duties fall solely on Casey Legg.
Though the majority of his Mountaineer career has been spent as the backup kicker, Legg has seen the field during his time in Morgantown. Last season, he even had his first big moment in the Gold and Blue, putting through a 51-yard field goal that helped propel the Mountaineers over the nationally ranked Kansas State Wildcats, 24-20. When he travels to Austin with the team on Saturday as the primary kicker, it will not be his first time in the spotlight.
Since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012, the Mountaineers and the Longhorns have played eight times – with the series being split 4-4. Five of those eight contests have been decided by seven points or less, meaning the game is tight more often than not. Should this weekend’s matchup have the same fate, West Virginia and Texas will be in a dogfight until the end. If that is the case, Casey Legg’s role with the Mountaineers will be bigger than it has ever been.
It is crucial that Legg has a successful outing in Austin. If he is able to connect on all of his kicks, and should the game be a nail-biter, there is a strong chance that West Virginia could come out on top. College kickers are almost never reliable, but we have the confidence that this could be Casey Legg’s official coming out party with the Mountaineers. He has shown both pop and accuracy with his kicks, and if that trend can continue, we may just be throwing Horns Down once again all offseason.
