MORGANTOWN — There were several audible cheers at WVU’s Pro Day March 29, at the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility. Every time, it was a White brother make a nice catch or having a flawless trip in several timed drills.
The White family was out in full force to support the last of the White brothers at WVU, Ka’Raun and Kyzir.
Ka’Raun, a wide receiver, and Kyzir, a safety, are the most highly regarded NFL prospects the Mountaineers have in this class, and their family came out to support, even the former WVU star and current Chicago Bear, brother Kevin White.
“They always come out to support us, so it was the usual, full gang here,” Ka’Raun said.
Ka’Raun, who caught 12 touchdowns as a senior, last season, was able to pick the brain of his older brother Kevin, since he went through the same process, in 2015.
Kevin was taken by the Bears with the No. 7 overall pick.
“I knew what to expect as far as the training goes at EXOS (Phoenix),” Ka’Raun said. “We all trained at the same facility, and he helped us train with the combine drills, too.”
Whatever Kevin said must have worked, because Ka’Raun had one of the more impressive combines of any receiver, especially in the bench press. He had 24 reps, the most by any receiver the last five years.
After running a 4.53 40-yard dash at the combine, Ka’Raun elected not to run it again at pro day on advice of his agent, saying he didn’t want the player to pull anything with more workouts to come before the NFL draft, set for April 26-28, in Arlington, Texas.
Ka’Raun worked with former WVU wide receiver Stedman Bailey, who is attempting an NFL comeback. Bailey also went through the pre-draft process before, in 2013, before being picked by the then-St. Louis Rams, in the third round.
Kyzir, continuing to soar up mock draft boards, is trying to become a more well-rounded prospect. Playing “Spur” safety with the Mountaineers, he played close to the line of scrimmage, as he was known for his hard-hitting ability.
Some pro scouts want him to not only work at safety, but also linebacker.
“I had never done that before, so they wanted me to work on filling running lanes, gaps and stuff like that,” Kyzir said.
Kyzir said he also got some advice from Kevin: “Just control what you can and focus on you.”
Among the notable numbers at Pro Day was running back Justin Crawford’s 40 time, 4.60, an improvement on both his times from the combine (4.65 and 4.61).
Several other former Mountaineers participated, including linebacker Shaq Petteway, running back Rushel Shell, defensive end Shaq Riddick, safety Jarrod Harper and safety Jeremy Tyler.
McDOUGLE LEAVING
Starting nose tackle Lamonte McDougle left the WVU football team and will seek a transfer, a source confirmed to The Dominion Post.
In a bizarre move, McDougle leaves after earning the starting job as a true freshman last season and earning ESPN freshman all-America honors.
The 5-foot-10, 300-pounder from Pompano Beach, Fla., finished with 23 tackles, four for loss, with two sacks, while also forcing and recovering one fumble.
McDougle is the second defensive lineman to transfer this spring (Adam Shuler). That leaves four scholarship linemen on the roster this spring, but three are signed and expected to arrive in the summer, while the coaching staff continues to search for graduate and junior-college transfers.
Darius Stills, who moved to nose tackle to replace McDougle this spring following shoulder surgery, is the likely favorite to stay at the top of the depth chart.
The Fairmont Senior alum played in eight games as a true freshman last season.
