MORGANTOWN — When Cortez Braham hears people call wide receiver a weakness for WVU football, he takes it personally.
“I take it personal, I take it real personal,” the rising senior said Thursday. “I was getting limited reps (last season) and I was still making plays. I’m taking this season real personal because I feel like I have a lot to prove out there.”
It might be strange to hear a receiver with 14 career Division I receptions take such exception to being doubted, but Braham is actually the Mountaineers’ leading returner at the position. WVU’s top four receivers from 2022 — Bryce Ford-Wheaton, Kaden Prather, Sam James and Reese Smith — all either graduated or transferred after last season, leaving Braham’s 14 catches and 147 yards as tops on the team.
“We use that as motivation because a lot of people think we can’t do it because of the receiving corps we had last year,” Braham said. “(Prather), Sam and them are big shoes to fill. But I feel like we have the pieces and everybody can play their role.
“We come to work every day. Even when we have adversity, we fight through it and make plays. It’s going to help us.”
While Braham admits that he still has a lot to prove on the field, just getting to this point in his life has already proved plenty.
Originally from Baltimore, Md., Braham decided at a young age that he wanted to get out of the area and knew football was the way to do it.
“That riot that happened (in 2015), I lived down the street from that riot,” he said. “It was real crazy out there. It was eye-opening and it taught me a lot. I didn’t want to be one of those kids who fall into the streets, I wanted to take my own route and play football and that’s what I did.”
Braham moved away from home to go to Westwood High School in Blythewood, South Carolina.
“Baltimore’s a real violent place and (my parents) felt like I had the opportunity to make it by going to South Carolina,” he said. “So I moved to my grandparents’ and went to high school for four years there.”
After a standout junior season at Westwood in which he had 750 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, college football was on the horizon for Braham, until he made a mistake and, suddenly, it wasn’t.
“I got into a little altercation with my teammate, which got me expelled from school and I went to an alternative school,” he said. “I lost all my (college) offers.”
Braham eventually landed at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, where he was able to rebuild his recruiting profile. In three seasons with the Blue Dragons, Braham racked up 1,387 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was rated as a three-star JUCO recruit before ending up in Morgantown.
“What I learned from it is maturity,” Braham said. “Really looking around and looking at my environment and learning how to calm myself. I got better at really being with myself and my inner self. Just not trying to be one of those bad kids like I always was growing up. I tried to change my life around, try to be a good kid.”
Braham has made it to the point where he has the chance to be a main contributor on a Power 5 college football team. The meaning of his journey and the significance of the opportunity he has this season are not lost on him.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “From last year not really getting to go out there and help the team, to this year, I really want to be one of the big factors for us to win.”
TWEET @CodyNespor
