The West Virginia Mountaineers are facing eight consecutive weeks of games to open the 2026 season before a bye week, and the injury bug has already begun to bite the Mountaineers.
It was clear when defensive lineman Darius Wiley was carted off the field in an air cast on Saturday that he was likely going to be sidelined for awhile, and Rich Rodriguezconfirmed that newson Monday night, with Wiley being done for the season.
But on Tuesday, Rodriguez gave some further updates on the injury front, this time with some news on the offensive front – and both are blows to the team's offensive depth.
Prince Strachan still out of action, Christopher Talley suffers injury
Prince Strachan is expected to be a starter, or at least a significant piece of the rotation, this season for the Mountaineers. Rodriguez mentioned he was close to coming back during the final weeks of the preseason, but he missed the game against Coastal Carolina, and once again will not be in action against UT-Martin this week. So when will he back?
“Hopefully he’ll be back maybe for next week’s game,"Rodriguez said. "He’ll be out again this week, but he’s got a chance to play in two weeks. We’ll see where that’s at.”
What isn't clear, however, is whether he is able to play but is being held back against an FCS opponent to give him extra recovery time before Week 3's clash with Virginia, or whether he just isn't ready to go yet. Fans will hope for the former, but we likely won't get a straightforward answer. But he could help make a major impact if he's back in time for the game against the Cavaliers.
Rodriguez also discussed the need to get a third running back into the picture, which isn't something that happened last Saturday – Cam Cook and Amari Latimer were the only two players who earned carries. But he also revealed this week that Christopher Talley, who would be the next man up, is injured after tweaking his hamstring in warm ups on Saturday.
Rodriguez did not have a great idea of when Talley will be back, noting that it's "week-to-week" at the moment. But it is an injury that has thrown a wrench into the team's plans, and now, Rodriguez needs to figure out his thirdoption.
"Martavious Boswell is probably that next guy now,"Rodriguez said. "But Lawrence Autry has been hurt, and now Lawrence is healthy, so today, [Boswell] and Autry will get the third running back reps, and we’ll try to get them ready to go."
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