JT Daniels assesses offensive performance from West Virginia debut in Week 1

West Virginia and quarterback JT Daniels have had some time to review and process their loss in the Backyard Brawl to Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers put up a good fight, taking the game down to the wire before ultimately coming up short in the end. During their post-practice press conference on Tuesday, Daniels assessed the offense’s performance from their thrilling Week 1 loss.

“Well going through it all, I was happy with it. Coach Graham was very happy with it, in general. I think we did a lot of great things. Overall as an offense, I was really happy with us,” said Daniels. “There was a few small things that I talked about. Execution is something we need to clean up. In general, I think we did a lot of great things upfront; we did great a lot of great things in the receiver room and the running backroom. All around, I think we played a good game. I think there’s just a few small things you clean up, and the score looks different.

It took a moment for the Mountaineers’ offense to get rolling, but it was hard to stop once it started. West Virginia did most of their damage on the ground, with CJ Donaldson and Tony Mathis; rushing for a combined 196 yards. Daniels also moved the ball through the air, especially when targeting wide receiver Bryce Wheaton, who caught both his touchdown passes.

Overall the West Virginia passing game did fairly decent against Pittsburgh. However, it did appear at times that Daniels and his receivers were not 100% on the same page. Despite that, the Mountaineers starting quarterback believes his offense started off the season on a good foot.

“I think it was really good. We had a lot of one-on-one chances; that’s a lot of what you see from Pitts’ defense. They gave us one-on-ones. I think we did a good job, for the most part, with our route spacing and detail. I think we did a pretty good job all around with ball placement. We capitalize on a lot of big plays. There was a few that we’re close to.

“It’s something that gets better, but you’re playing against good DBs; throwing a lot of one-on-one deep shots. Of course, you’d like to hit every one of them, but 1-3 is typically a good benchmark for any 40-plus long bomb; and I think we’re pretty close to that.

Daniels finished the game completing 23 of his 40 passing attempts for 214 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Next up for Daniels and the Mountaineers is a matchup against the improved Kansas Jayhawks. Last season, the Mountaineers barely scraped by with the win on the road against Kansas. And this season, they should expect another hard fought fight with their Big 12 rival.