Morgantown, West Virginia – When Winston Wright, Jr. decided to leave the West Virginia Mountaineers and enter the transfer portal, the situation in Morgantown became truly serious.
Wright, who had 63 receptions, 688 yards and 5 touchdowns, was without a doubt West Virginia’s most dangerous offensive returning player. Not only is he the team’s most explosive player on offense, he’s also one of the most talented kick returners in all of college football.
Wright’s decision to leave makes it twenty-nine (29) players who have left the football program during this calendar year (since 1/1/21), which leads the nation. While it could be argued that many of these players were not starters who went on to modest success at other schools, almost all of them were capable of at least providing depth for the Mountaineers.
At least twelve of the twenty-nine players – Ali Jennings, Alec Sinkfield, Tykee Smith, Dreshun Miller, Jeffery Pooler, Darel Middleton, Kerry Martin, Jr., VanDarius Cowan, Isaiah Esdale, T.J. Banks, JP Hadley and Winston Wright – were starters or talented enough to start for the Mountaineers.
What is going on in Morgantown? TWENTY NINE (29) transfers during this calendar year from #WVU. @WVUADLyons @NealBrown_WVU @gordongee pic.twitter.com/NwDdCyQSlT
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) December 31, 2021
The silence out of Morgantown speaks volumes. Shane Lyons and Neal Brown have so far said very little and that of course is very unfortunate. There is a major problem within the football program and the West Virginia fan base deserves real answers to the tough questions.
Although West Virginia has one of its best recruiting classes ever coming in, it will take years for most of them to be productive, effective players on the field. Neal Brown doesn’t have years. The football program is officially in shambles and something must be done immediately.
Shane Lyons recently said that a coaching change sets a program back 3 years, but at this point Neal Brown has made zero progress in his three seasons as head coach.
With one of the most difficult difficult seasons upcoming in 2022 and no real reason to think that West Virginia will be improved next season, how long will Lyons give Brown to fix this?
