MORGANTOWN — When Ayden Garnes arrived in Morgantown, he wasn’t too keen on the idea of running into Hudson Clement in the locker room.
Aside from the usual animosity that exists between cornerbacks and wide receivers, Garnes didn’t really want to see the guy who put up 177 yards and three touchdowns on his team last season.
“When I first got here I was like ‘I really don’t want to talk to that guy, he had an amazing game on us,’” Garnes said Monday.
Garnes transferred to WVU this offseason, coming up from the FCS level at Duquesne. Garnes and the Dukes were in Morgantown last fall to play the Mountaineers, a 56-17 loss on Sept. 9. Clement made a surprise start, the first of his career, and played so well he earned a scholarship that night.
“We came into the game and we were focused on Devin (Carter) because he had big catches at Penn State,” Garnes said. “He was out there for warm-ups but then he took his pads off and we were wondering who we were going to see.
“When Hudson came out we thought he just had to figure this guy out. By the time we figured it out, he already had two touchdowns.”
Now that they’re on the same side, Garnes was able to let bygones be bygones and has warmed up to Clement this offseason.
“Throughout winter workouts we started to bond a little bit and now we have a good relationship,” he assured.
Part of the reason Garnes is at WVU now is that game against the Mountaineers last year. Garnes saw first-hand how passionate the home fans were, and how many stayed through a two-hour weather delay to see the end of the game.
“The big part that hit me was after the first touchdown when the musket went off. It low-key scared me a little bit,” Garnes jokes. “At the end of the game, I just soaked it all in. This is a beautiful place and I felt great about it.”
Garnes kept those memories tucked in the back of his mind, knowing that he might look to make the jump to the FBS level in the offseason.
“I knew I was able to play on that level,” Garnes said. “I played against Florida State, played against Hawaii and I came here and played West Virginia. I felt that I was able to play at this level and I wanted to give myself a chance.”
When the Dukes won their conference last season, Garnes thought he didn’t have anything left to accomplish at that level and entered the transfer portal.
“It hit me in the middle of the season,” he said. “I felt like winning the championship there was going to be one of the biggest things I’d end up doing.”
West Virginia was in on Garnes quickly, although Cincinnati scheduled his first visit. He visited WVU the next day and made up his mind.
“I had a good visit (at Cincinnati) and then I came here the day after and it just felt like home. They brought me in like I was part of the family,” Garnes said. “I had Liberty and Indiana a couple of days later and I canceled both of those visits because I knew where I wanted to go and it was here.”
After committing to the Mountaineers, Garnes was able to talk to one of the team’s most recent Hall of Fame inductees, Anthony Becht. Garnes went to the same high school as Becht, Monsignor Bonner in Philadelphia, Pa.
“Every summer he has his own football camp where he helps little kids,” Garnes said. “I went to his camp when I was young and I worked it when I played at Bonner.”
Becht talked to Garnes about his experience at WVU and said he would make sure to make it to at least one game this season — as long as his son, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, wasn’t playing at the same time.
Garnes is part of a rebuilt cornerback room that includes fellow transfers Garnett Hollis (Northwestern), TJ Crandall (Colorado State) and Dontez Fagan (Charlotte).
As the one making the largest jump in competition, Garnes said it took him a couple of days to really find his footing in the spring.
“The first two days, I was getting action but there were some routes I was late on,” he said. “Then that fourth day came, the first day in pads, and I got two picks. That was the first day I felt I could make a step here. That’s what skyrocketed me to having a great spring and a great summer.”
Garnes and the Mountaineers have ended fall camp and will now prepare for the 2024 season-opener against Penn State on Aug. 31 (noon, FOX).
