The Shadow
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – I suppose there are two ways to view bringing a wide receiver who caught just two passes last year to Big 12 Media Days, which took place earlier this week in Frisco, Texas. There is the glass-half-empty version, which is obvious, or the glass-half-full version, which is not so obvious. In the case of West Virginia University senior Jaden Bray, his college career has epitomized the portion of the glass that has remained unoccupied.
During his three seasons at Oklahoma State, Bray showed immense promise, beginning in 2021 as a freshman when he caught 13 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns.n Then he got hurt and appeared in just three games in 2022. Two years ago, he caught at least one pass in all 10 games he played in 2023, including touchdowns against West Virginia and Houston, and finished the season with 30 receptions for 382 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Afterward, Bray thought a change of scenery was in order, so he hopped into the transfer portal to become one of coach Neal Brown’s biggest offseason acquisitions at West Virginia last winter. Bray’s hope was to become WR1 for the Mountaineers and be productive enough to parlay that into a spot in last spring’s NFL Draft. Based on some of the impressive practices he had during preseason camp, the 6-foot-2, 206-pounder looked like a second coming of DK Metcalf. “I have always practiced really well. I felt like I was definitely on the rise to having a great season last year,” he said. But then came the regular season.
The Norman, Oklahoma, resident didn’t make a single catch in the opening-game loss to Penn State, had a pair of 44-yard receptions in the Albany and Pitt games, wasn’t targeted in the Kansas win and then his season ended when he fractured his foot against his old team, Oklahoma State. Two months later, Bray was dealing with a whole new coaching staff. So, where did that leave him? Stuck in football purgatory.
His body of work didn’t really merit getting back into the transfer portal and shopping himself around to another school. Bray also liked Morgantown, West Virginia University and its blue-collar vibes, so he figured the best thing for him to do was to heal, man up, and give it another shot in the spring. And for the first time in his life, he didn’t have the benefit of having his mom close by anymore. It was time for him to grow up and become a man. “I definitely had to grow up fast,” Bray said earlier this week. “My mom used to be just right down the street and she’s not right down the street anymore living here.
“At first it was hard, but I felt like I pushed through everything that I had to deal with last year, so it wasn’t all bad,” he added. No, it wasn’t all bad. In fact, once he became fully healthy, things turned around pretty quickly. Bray demonstrated to new coach Rich Rodriguez some of his pass catching abilities that had everyone here oohing and ahhing last fall.
“I love Jaden,” Coach Rod says. “He got banged up and didn’t get to play much last year, but I was really impressed with his competitiveness this spring. He’s a big, strong, physical guy, and he can take hard coaching. His best football is out in front of him, so I’m excited for him to be here and we’re expecting him to have a big year.”
In some ways, with Rodriguez, Bray is sort of going back to the future. He played in an up-tempo offense at Oklahoma State, and he admits some of the same principles in Mike Gundy’s system apply today with Rich Rod. “He knows what he wants,” Bray says of Rodriguez. “He’s been doing this for a long time, and he’s won a lot of games, so he’s not going to change up for anybody. You look at his resume and it’s all there.”
To be a starting wide receiver for Rich Rodriguez, you’ve got to be versatile enough to play multiple positions. You’ve got to be tough and physical enough to block on the perimeter. You’ve got to be smart enough to play fast, and most important of all, you must be in great shape to play at Rodriguez’s pace. Upon Rich Rod’s blessing, those turbo-charged summer workouts have returned to Morgantown, including more frequent visits to Law School Hill.
“It’s been very tough. If you want to play in Rich Rod’s offense, you better be used to it,” Bray chuckled. “They have definitely been pushing us during the weight room part and it’s all good.” When in the proper shape, Rodriguez’s system is a playmaker’s paradise.
“It’s been fun being in his offense and especially how fast it goes,” Bray said. “I’ve been talking to (Jacksonville State transfer) Cam Vaughn, who thrived in it last season. He’s a young, talented guy who is playing with us this year. I’ve just been learning from him and trying to figure out the best ways to thrive in this offense.” The secret, according to Bray, is in its simplicity. “They don’t overcomplicate anything,” he explained. “Our job is to play really fast. We have a lot of plays that are shortened down into just one or two words, but everybody knows what we’re doing.
“Our run game is going to open up our pass game, so we are all going to depend on each other, especially when we have Jahiem White in the backfield,” Bray added. “There are going to be a lot of eyes on him, which can open up a lot of one-on-one opportunities for us.” It’s easy for Bray to get caught up in the finality of his senior season, but his personal policy is not to look too far into the future. Bray believes taking care of the here and now will lead to bigger things down the road.
“I’m not really into comparing other people’s success to your own because that’s when you can get really lost,” he pointed out. “I have just been focusing on my pace because not everybody’s journey is the same. “I don’t really want to put any more pressure on myself,” Bray continued. “I’m just going to take it one day at a time and attack it that way. One play at a time and one day at a time. That’s all I can really do.”
Bray believes the healthy version of himself can become the physical, pass-catching alternative on the perimeter that will force teams to have to defend the entire field. When Rodriguez’s offenses have all areas covered, it is a sight to behold. West Virginia fans old enough to remember the mid-2000s know what it was like seeing the Mountaineers march up and down the field and light up the scoreboard.
Bray says he is anxious to do his part. “Whenever my name is called, I just want to be able to do my one/eleventh,” Bray explained. Of course, a lot of that is going to depend on some good luck and good health, things way overdue for Jaden Bray. “I’m praying for a healthy season just to showcase what I can really do,” he said.
From what Rodriguez has seen so far from Bray, he believes it’s in him, which is why he was one of the three players chosen to represent West Virginia at Big 12 Media Days earlier this week. “He could be one of our top wideouts,” Rodriguez predicted. For his part, Bray is enjoying the excitement generated by the return of Rich Rodriguez to WVU. Ticket sales are already at a 12-year high with more than 30,000 season and 304 tickets already sold.
The raucous Milan Puskar Stadium atmosphere that used to give opposing teams major fits is on the verge of returning, which Bray admits is very appealing. “The people here work really hard, and they do love West Virginia football or West Virginia sports, period,” he said. “It’s just an unconditional love for their sports teams here in this state.
“It’s exciting. Being here today (at Big 12 Media Days) shows that it’s right around the corner.” Bray concluded
