With Starters Out, Jaylen Anderson and Others To See Time Against TCU

The month of October is known for playing tricks on people and scaring others as its heads towards its famous end-of-month holiday, Halloween. The West Virginia Mountaineers are experiencing their own “house of horrors” in the month of October as they continue to deal with injuries. On Tuesday, head coach Neal Brown detailed that several starters would miss or see limited playing time against their upcoming opponent, the TCU Horned Frogs.

“ Tony [Mathis] will be out,” said Brown. Justin [Johnson], we’ll see as it goes. [Starting left guard James] Gmiter will be out again. Injured right at the end of the Baylor game, He missed last week. He’ll be out next week.”

Those injuries now pave the way for young players to see more playing time, someone like redshirt freshman Jaylen Anderson, who’s been relegated to fourth string running back, will now see some time on the field. In addition to Anderson, young lineman Tomas Rimac will be inserted into the game.

Rashad Ajayi will be out,” said Brown. “[Wesley] McCormick, we’re hoping to get back this week..... Lance [Dixon] will be out this week. I think he’s [cornerback Charles Woods] going to practice today and he’ll be available,” said Brown. “We’re hoping he can play a few more play. We’ve messed with his orthotics a little bit.... as long as he’s good Thursday and Friday, he’ll play.

This is not the news most Mountaineer fans want to hear, given the struggles of the defense already. The secondary, which has been the worst unit on the defensive side of the ball, will be without two or three starters and will continue to rely on young players.