By: James Gravley | WV Sports Chat
Freshman quarterback Khalil Wilkins will have all eyes on him Friday night against BYU.
No, really, he will.
Kickoff between the Mountaineers and Cougars is set for 10:30 pm (EST). WVU enters this game 2-3 with two losses coming in blowout fashion against Kansas two weeks ago and Utah last week.
Can this week prevail any better for WVU? Maybe? But the results of the past prove that it may be very slim. In fact, WVU, per ESPN, is only given a 5% chance to win this game on Friday night.
And with WVU now down to basically three quarterbacks in Wilkins, who is starting, Max Brown who is currently questionable for the game, and Scotty Fox who hasn’t been named to see playing time this week from head coach Rich Rodriguez.
Wilkins is the next coming for WVU; some comparing him to Pat White. But making a start on the road against a top 25 team with a very physical and tough defense will be hard to overcome.
Against Utah last week Wilkins went three of six for 63 yards passing with a touchdown. He also rushed it nine times for 39 yards.
“Khalil can make all the throws and obviously he’s a dynamic runner. He’s got some explosive ability. I think his future, his upside looks really good,” Rodriguez said to the media about Wilkins play style.
Rodriguez and his staff knew from the jump that Wilkins would be the future of the Mountaineer program, but probably didn’t want to rush the process. However, they don’t have much of a choice at this point.
According to FOX, BYU’s total defense is seventh in the country, rushing defense is eighth in the country, scoring defense is fourth in country, third down defense is eighth in the country, while the Cougars red zone defense and passing defense ranks top 20 in the country.
That alone is recipe for disaster when it comes to throwing out a young Wilkins under center.
Can he prevail? Can the Mountaineers offensive line hold up? Only time will tell.
Photo: Kelsie LeRose / WVSN
