The 2026 freshman class for West Virginia hasn't seen a ton of playing time this season, and a big reason for that is because of the veteran presence they have populating the two-deep on both sides of the football.
Safety Matt Sieg and left tackle Kevin Brown have obviously played the most, being in starting roles, but who could help this team coming out of the bye week in the final four games of the season? I've got three names, the first of which won't surprise you.
RB Amari Latimer
This is the only obvious one of the three on the list, and I felt like I couldn't leave him off because it is going to be super important down the stretch that he continues to get more comfortable and has a larger role in the offense.
Cam Cook is great and is going to continue as the workhorse, but it looks like Latimer is gaining more trust from the coaching staff and isn't playing with as much hesitation as he was earlier in the season. Because he's so big and strong, he can somewhat serve the same role as Owen Schmitt did in those two-back sets with Cook. He had a couple of nice blocks in the TCU game, and when he's getting the ball, he's getting downhill in a hurry.
The deeper WVU gets into the season, the more Latimer needs to become a factor to keep Cook fresh late in games.
DL Yendor Mack
This one is probably the biggest long stretch of the three, but due to the lack of depth along the defensive line, Mack could get more opportunities. The coaching staff has been raving about him since fall camp, although it just hasn't quite clicked yet for him in games. He's appeared in 62 defensive snaps and has had some struggles winning his matchups in the trenches.
I believe there is more to the freshman version of Mack than what we've seen thus far, and with the bye week, it will give him some extra time to be in the film room and get more comfortable in the scheme.
LB Miles Khatri
I was really encouraged by what I saw from Khatri this past weekend against TCU. He made the move from nickel/sam to linebacker, and you could feel his presence in the 31 snaps he played on defense. He came up with two tackles in the win, and it felt like he was around the ball a lot more than that.
It felt as if Khatri was uncomfortable at nickel/sam, having to be in coverage the majority of the time. He had some egregious blunders there, but at backer, it feels more like a natural fit, and with the struggles the Mountaineers have had in the second level, he could be part of the solution, especially against the run.
I would be shocked if we didn't see Khatri play a ton of football in these final four games.
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