West Virginia football season preview 2020: Predictions, depth chart, breakout players

West Virginia football season preview 2020: Record predictions, depth chart analysis, breakout players

MANHATTAN, KS - NOVEMBER 16: Quarterback Jarret Doege #2 of the West Virginia Mountaineers throws a pass down field against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second half at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /

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Head coach Neal Brown of the West Virginia Mountaineers. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

West Virginia football season preview, including record predictions, depth chart analysis and breakout players to watch on Neal Brown’s Mountaineers team.

The West Virginia football team has been a tweener team since joining the Big 12 just about every season. Often, they are worth a ranking in the teens but rarely do they make the top 10 and rarely do they fall completely off the radar.

The last two seasons saw quite opposite seasons. Two years ago, Will Grier was looking to become a Heisman Trophy candidate as he went shot for shot with the biggest names in the league, ultimately falling short in back to back games to end the season to ruin a chance at a good bowl.

Dana Holgerson left for the Houston, Grier and just about every other important offensive player left for the NFL Draft, Neal Brown was hired out of Troy and the Mountaineers were looking at a rebuilding year. The Mountaineers just missed out on a bowl game, but this wasn’t a roster that deserved a postseason.

This season, there are still some muted expectations in Morgantown, but fans have to believe that things will get better in the second year in Brown’s system. They are at risk of missing a bowl game in back-to-back seasons for the first time since they first joined the Big East (1991-92). With the Mountaineers losing some of their non-conference opponents (Florida State and Maryland would be really good games to test where this team was) changes things.

There are a million questions surrounding this team with weeks to go before the season starts. The quarterback is still in question despite a very similar roster to last season, the running backs were awful last season, the talent on the lines is there, and the back end of the defense might have some issues if things don’t go right. This is what happens when a team has an “all-in” roster that doesn’t win it all. It takes a few years to recover.

The question is, is this another recovery year, or is West Virginia football on the way back?