The West Virginia Mountaineers are just a little over a month away from training camp startingahead of the 2026 football season, but that does not mean the team has not been putting in a lot of hard work this summer.
While there are obviously limits on exactly what and how much can be done during the summer months, it is nowhere near an off period for the Mountaineers And it's rather crucial time as well, as it can be the step in separating the pretenders from the contenders in position battles that weren't fully sorted out in the spring, giving coaches a better idea early in camp what their depth chart will look like.
And while there isn't a ton of access of the mostly unofficial activities going on throughout the summer, there are some murmurs coming out of Morgantown about players who could end up making a sizable impact this fall who aren't particularly on many people's radars. Here, we take a look at a few of those players.
Darius Morant, RB
Morant sort appeared out of nowhere during spring practices, a late addition to the roster through the portal to address the lack of collegiate experience behind Cam Cook on the depth chart. He spent his first two seasons at Temple but recorded no stats during his time with the Owls.
And while most reporting indicates that Cook and freshman Amari Latimer are going to be the main backs this coming season, EerSports publisher Chris Anderson disclosed on the Country Roads Confidential podcast on Monday that he's expect Morant to rack up some carries this season as well, based on what he's seen while on-site this summer.
"Give me him as my third running back," Anderson said.
John Neider, WR
After spring ball, it seemed that Troy transfer DJ Epps was penciled in as the starter at slot receiver, and Prince Strachan and Jaden Bray seemed to be the top outside receivers.
But Strachan suffered an injury during the spring game, and while he is expected to be back, that has seemed to elevate UConn transfer John Neider, who hauled in 422 receiving yards and two touchdowns last season, into the starting rotation during summer workouts.
"When they were out there and it was "first team", he was out there – he was the second outside receiver," Anderson said. "And when I'm out there and I see them going through conditioning...when you go through conditioning and you can see the dudes who are just going through conditioning and it's not that terribly hard for them and they're pushing other people...he was one of those guys."
Ryan Ward, TE
Ryan Ward was with the Mountaineers last season, but was the third-string tight end behind Grayson Barnes and Jacob Barrick. Now, with both gone, the pathway has emerged for him to inherit the top role on the team. He caught six passes for 41 yards and a touchdown last season, and his versatility has reportedly won him favor with the coaching staff.
"I've hard from talking to people that he's a guy that can do both [blocking and receiving]," Anderson said.
"That's a big reason why they wanted to keep him, and that's what they're pitching to recruits, that's what they're pitching to transfers they're targeting – hey, we want to run a fast offense, and we don;t want a one-dimensional tight end. We want guys that can do it all so we can stay on the field and go up-tempo, so I think you'll see a bigger role for him last year."
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