West Virginia has been banged up for most of this season, but luckily for Neal Brown and his squad, some key players are expected to make their returns, the coach says.
Linebacker Josh Chandler has officially been cleared to practice and will participate at full speed on Tuesday. Brown says his return will be a boost due to Kansas State’s power run scheme, so his presence will help in the box.
“Josh Chandler practiced a little bit last week, we didn’t feel like he was ready to go [against Texas Tech],” Brown said. “But he will play this week barring any setbacks.”
Wide receiver Sean Ryan has also been cleared to practice after leaving the Texas game in October with an upper body injury and undergoing surgery. A decision on his status will be made later in the week. Also in the wide receiver corps, T.J. Simmons is questionable after missing last week’s game against Texas Tech.
“[He] jogged a little bit yesterday, and we’ll see how he progresses this week,” Brown said.
Kicker Evan Staley’s status will be evaluated later in the week after missing the last two games with a lower body injury.
“Hopefully he will kick a little bit today,” Brown said. “We’ll kind of see how that goes.”
However, Brown did not provide an update on offensive lineman Chase Behrndt, who didn’t play against Texas Tech on Saturday after leaving the Baylor game. In the lead-up to the game, Brown said the team would be “monitoring his status.”
