In this third edition of the position review series for WVU Football, we will be taking a look at WVU’s totally revamped wide receiver room, as well as the tight end room. Read more: Position Review #3: WVU’s revamped WR/TE groups.
In particular, the Mountaineers have a slew of new receivers compared to the 2025 season. Most notably, they will be without their 2025 leading pass catcher Cam Vaughn.
After transferring to Miami University, WVU had to dip its toes in the transfer portal once again to refuel a wide receiver room that largely underperformed last season.
New faces… better results?
It is no secret that the wide receiver group was not a strong suit for WVU last season. Besides Vaughn, the Mountaineers could never quite find a reliable No. 2 option.
A big reason for that was the season-ending injury to Jaden Bray earlier in the season. In just the second game of the year, Bray sustained a lower leg injury that cut his season short.
Thankfully, the redshirt senior is back for final year with the Mountaineers. As long as he can stay healthy, Bray has a good opportunity to become WVU’s No. 1 option in the passing attack.
He will not have to do it alone though, as Troy transfer DJ Epps enters his first year at West Virginia. He previously spent four seasons with the Trojans, including a redshirt year in 2022.
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Epps is coming off his most productive season in college after he finished with a team-high 47 catches and 512 yards. He also matched a team-high five touchdowns, with a longest of 48 yards.
Also a factor in the return game, Epps is a fast, twitchy receiver that should be effective in the slot for the Mountaineers. Getting the ball to him quick and allowing him to work in space is where he will do a lot of his damage this season.
The third most likely starter for West Virginia is USC transfer Prince Strachan. Previously at Boise State for two seasons, Strachan is coming off a year at USC where he played just one game before sustaining a season-ending injury.
However, he accumulated 578 yards and three touchdowns with the Broncos. At 6’5 and around 211 pounds, Strachan possesses the necessary size to be a consistent downfield threat for the Mountaineers.
The rest of the WR room
Another promising receiver in the group is LSU transfer Taron Francis. After spending just one year with the Tigers, Francis decided to join the Mountaineers in hopes of more playing time.
A former four-star recruit, Francis possesses good speed and athleticism that will certainly help him get on the field a ton this upcoming season.
Keon Hutchins is another transfer who comes in with a lot of potential for the Mountaineers. Last year for Northwest Mississippi Community College, Hutchins caught 35 catches for 667 yards and six touchdowns.
He was also named to the 2025 NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention Offense team.
The 6’0, 180-pound Mississippi native comes to West Virginia as a junior, so he will have some time to get acclimated to the Power 4 level.
UConn transfer John Neider is the final member of the group that should be able to fight for playing time consistently. The redshirt junior is coming off three years at UConn where he was a standout special teams player on top of playing receiver.
Last year for the Huskies he finished with 27 receptions for 422 yards and two touchdowns.
Ward leads TE room
Moving over to the tight end room, which is also primarily made up of new faces. However, the one leading the way is a familiar face who enters his second year with the Mountaineers.
Ryan Ward is coming off a season where he was not the starting tight end for WVU, but he still managed to show the coaches and fans a glimpse of what he can do. He managed to collect 41 yards and a touchdown off six catches in 2025.
After transferring from North Carolina last season, Ward now starts this season as the likely go-to guy among the tight ends. He’s a name to keep an eye on as the season progresses due to how untapped his potential is.
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Clemson transfer Josh Sapp is also a player that will be fighting for the starting tight end job. After spending four seasons at Clemson and playing in 41 games across that span, Sapp brings a ton of experience with him to West Virginia.
For the Tigers last season he finished with 11 catches and 150 yards.
Cam Ball is the third tight end on the roster that has a lot of experience in college. The redshirt senior is coming off two seasons at Mississippi State, and two years at Buffalo before that.
Across his career he has played in 35 games with 10 of them being starts. Last year for the Bulldogs he appeared in 12 games and caught two passes for 12 yards.
Stay tuned
That wraps up the primary list of wide receivers and tight ends on WVU’s roster for the upcoming season. There are tons of freshmen among both of these groups, but I decided to just dive into the ones who will consistently be fighting for playing time.
The wide receiver room is especially exciting this year. Other than Bray, the ones seeing the field will be brand new to Mountaineer fans. It will be up to those new faces to erase the bad memories of last year’s WR group.
As for the tight ends, I expect Ward to be the starter in Week 1. However, both Sapp and Ball will be no strangers to seeing the field as well. Expect the coaching staff to employ all three of them a bunch.
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