The West Virginia Mountaineers suffered their third-consecutive loss to begin Big 12 Conference play as they fell to 2-4 (0-3). Notably, WVU has started three different quarterbacks in each of the last three weeks. In the 38-24 loss to BYU, it was redshirt freshman Khalil Wilkins who got his first career start at quarterback.
"He played hard. He was a freshman in that environment, and I thought he was into the game. I think he'd like to have a lot of plays back, but I also think he competed his tail off," Rodriguez said.
"Khalil made some nice runs, probably had a few plays he'd like to come back, but that was a tough environment to get you first start in, and it's a guy that wasn't able to practice all the way up until August because of his injury in the spring."
Wilkins showed his potential, but also made mistakes: let's break down the good, the bad, and the ugly from his first start.
The Good
Undoubtedly, Khalil Wilkins was a little sore after this game went final. The redshirt freshman led the Mountaineers with 23 carries and took a few rough hits from a talented BYU defense. For an offense that was one-dimensional for much of the game, Wilkins managed to gain 89 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Simply put, he ran often, he ran hard, and he ran well. Even though he took hits, he didn’t put the ball on the turf, and he displayed a knack for picking up extra yards. BYU’s stout defense made sure Wilkins had to earn every yard.
Though at times he certainly looked like the redshirt freshman that he is, it was very encouraging to see a notable difference in his comfort level and confidence as the game progressed. In a difficult environment on the road, he showed fight and grit that Coach Rodriguez and his staff certainly appreciate.
The Bad
Through the air, Wilkins struggled, especially in the first half. On the Mountaineers' second drive, his third pass attempt of the game was an interception on a poor read on a quick hitch route intended for Preston Fox. This was by far his worst read of the game. Throughout the game, he had a few passes he would like to have back as he missed a few open receivers. Not uncommon for young quarterbacks, Wilkins displayed little to no touch on his throws. Seemingly, each pass came out of his hand at the same velocity, leading to errant throws. If Wilkins were to see starts at quarterback during the second half of the season, this is an aspect of his game he will need to work on.
The Ugly
Several times when Wilkins dropped back to pass, he appeared to tuck it and run quickly if his first read on the pass play wasn’t open. While again, he seemed to be comfortable passing in the second half, this was indicative of the one-dimensional offense that the Mountaineers have possessed for much of the season.
Unfortunately, Wilkins didn’t get a ton of help from his receivers either. Late in the 3rd quarter, with the Mountaineers down 31-10, Wilkins threw a very catchable deep ball to Cam Vaughn, who had it ricochet off his hands and into the hands of a Cougar defender inside the BYU 10-yard line for an interception. On another play, Wilkins threaded the needle between several BYU defenders while scrambling to place a pass in Jacob Barrick's hands, which was dropped.