MORGANTOWN — Neal Brown is a man who does not shy away from criticizing parts of his team when he deems it necessary.
The WVU head football coach will also — with just as much conviction — heap praise on that same group when they get it turned around.
Such is the life in college athletics where consistency is a hard thing to come by.
Or, as the old saying goes, sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug.
Which brings us to the group known as WVU’s receiving corps, who ended up being a major pest to Baylor’s secondary in Thursday’s 43-40 victory at Milan Puskar Stadium.
It was only days before the win that Brown called his receivers out.
They had dropped seven passes by his count in a loss against Texas.
The reason for the drops, Brown cited, were a lack of fundamentals and not having their hands in the right place to make the catch.
Then came the Baylor game. WVU receivers caught 24 of the 37 passes thrown their way. Some of them required some twisting and turning to reach back, others required perfect concentration while inching along the sideline between two Baylor defensive backs.
“Our receivers, whenever we played last, we sat here and talked about drops,” Brown began. “They made a bunch of plays tonight. So, let’s make sure we talk about that.
“There were a bunch of contested catches. There were a bunch of passes behind them, and they made a bunch of plays.”
None more than sophomore Kaden Prather, who it can be said, has been the Mountaineers’ most consistent outside threat since the Pitt game to open the season.
He had just two receptions against the Panthers. In the five games since, Prather has caught at least six balls in each one and is averaging 70 yards per game.
Prather had his best showing of the season against Baylor, catching eight passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
“When I make that first catch, that’s all I need to get in a groove,” Prather said. “That first one is going to get me going.”
Prather’s consistency has not gone unnoticed.
“Kaden Prather is growing up,” Brown said. “He’s going to be as good as he wants to be. He’s growing up before our eyes, and his last few games, he’s playing some really good football.”
Much of Prather’s success comes in finding holes in the middle of the field, and then finding some running room after making the catch.
As to his chemistry with WVU quarterback J.T. Daniels, “It’s always been there,” Prather said. “It can always get better. We’re still working at that, but it’s getting better as the weeks go by.”
Saturday’s road game against Texas Tech (3-3, 1-2 Big 12), at least on paper, looks to be a real shoot-out.
WVU (3-3, 1-2) and the Red Raiders are both among the top four in the Big 12 in total offense and they are also the bottom two teams in the league in points allowed.
“That’s no pressure at all,” Prather said about playing in a shoot-out. “It’s kind of been like that the whole season. We cover a lot of scenarios like that in practice. We’re prepared for it.”
TWEET @bigjax3211
