The West Virginia Mountaineers moved to 2-0 on Saturdaywith a dominant winover FCS opponent UT-Martin. As always, there were some strong performances (and some not-so-strong performances) by West Virginia talent in the win.
In this series, we will take a look each week at the winners and the losers from each game West Virginia – think of it as a stocks up, stocks down type of situation. This week, because there were lots of big performances, we selected four winners and just two losers. Here they are.
Winner: Mike Hawkins Jr.
Hawkins Jr. excelled in his debut for the Mountaineers, but looked even better in Week 2. He went 5-for-7 passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while adding six carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. It'shard to overstate what a huge pickup Hawkins wasfor the Mountaineers in the portal.
Loser: Zac Alley
Zac Alley was a big-time acquisition for Rich Rodriguez's staff when he came to Morgantown last year, but his defense last season didn't necessarily live up to the hype. The first game of the season against Coastal Carolina left more concerns after the pass defense was shredded by Deuce Bailey, and against UT-Martin, they gave up over 300 offensive yards, 18 first downs, and nine chunk plays. Alley needs to find a solution to his defense's woes.
Winner: Ashton Woods
Woods had five tackles (2 TFL), one sack, and one interception on Saturday against UT-Martin, and was the highest-graded player by Pro Football Focus (PFF) for WVU with a 92.5 overall defensive grade. With Cam Torbor garnering buzz over the offseason and Woods coming off a season-ending injury last year, it wasn't certain how big of a role he'd still have. But he's proving to be a critical player in the defensive rotation.
Loser: Amare "Bubba" Grayson
Grayson was the top performing offensive lineman for West Virginia in Week 1 according to both the PFF grades and the eye test. But he turned into the worst-graded lineman for the Mountaineers this week, grading out at 49.8 overall offensively – including a dismal 31.0 pass blocking grade. He was an all-conference selection for Jacksonville State, so it's likely just a hiccup, but Week 2 was not his best showing.
Winner: Amari Latimer
Latimer continue to look great for a true feshman, picking up 33 yads on five carries while also scoring his first-ever collegiate touchdown.
Winner: DJ Epps
DJ Epps didn't really have an opportunity to do a ton in his debut in Week 1, but he showed up in a big way on Saturday. He was only targeted twice, but he had two receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown.
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