Talented true freshmen Kevin Brown, Amari Latimer, Matt Sieg played ‘good’ in WVU football debut against Coastal Carolina
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MORGANTOWN -- One of the reasons fans and experts had high expectations and excitement around West Virginia football was the offseason moves made when the roster was rebuilt. A big part of the roster rebuild came from the massive high school and junior college class, which was one of the highest rated in program history.
Rich Rodriguez didn't waste any time showcasing his talented recruiting class, and gathered excitement when he released the depth chart, which listed a couple true freshmen on the two-deep, on Tuesday after his Coastal Carolina game-week press conference. Four days later, multiple true freshmen played and started in WVU's 31-24 win over Coastal Carolina.
Former 4-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown made his debut against the Chanticleers and first start at left tackle, which is a major spot for an 18-year-old, protecting starting quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.'s blindside.
There were obvious growing pains in Brown's first start. He was called for a false start on a play, and allowed a few pass rushers past him. But, there were a lot of positive takeaways in his first start. Brown helped the Mountaineers rush for 281 yards and three touchdowns. The offensive line unit allowed just one sack on 14 pass plays.
"To start on the offensive line as a true freshman is really rare," Rodriguez said. "I thought Kevin played pretty good."
Brown wasn't the only true freshman to start. Two-way 4-star Matt Sieg started as the punt and kickoff returner for the Mountaineers. Sieg was an interesting prospect out of high school because he excelled at both offense and defense. He hasn't played offense just yet, but had the ball in his hands a few times against the Chanticleers.
Sieg hauled in the kickoffs and fair caught a couple of punts. He elected not to catch one punt, which ended up rolling inside the Mountaineers’ own 2-yard line for a tough call. That resulted in a three-and-out. Sieg finished the game with one return for 19 yards.
Sieg didn't start on defense, but saw action on a few plays in the secondary. He had one solo tackle and jumped on the ball to recover one of WVU's two turnovers. Sieg's role on defense should only grow.
Mountaineer true freshman running back Amari Latimer also had the ball a few times in his hand as the backup to Jacksonville State transfer Cam Cook, who led the nation in rushing in 2025. Latimer carried the ball six times for 32 yards, with his longest rush being eight yards. Latimer didn't catch a pass out of the backfield, unlike Cook, who caught two passes.
There were a few more true freshmen who entered the game, but those three were the most notable and were top of the class. Rodriguez said he wanted to play more freshmen in the second half, especially on offense. He even said he wanted Scotty Fox Jr. to play the second half at quarterback. But Coastal Carolina, with the help of Deuce Bailey, mounted a big comeback in the second half, making the final score a lot closer than the 24-0 lead at half.
"The second half, we were not playing good football," Rodriguez said.
There will be more of an opportunity for freshmen to play in Week 2 against U.T. Martin. The Skyhawks are an FCS school and are 1-1 on the season, losing the opener to Central Arkansas. The Mountaineers have a 97.1% chance to beat U.T. Martin, according to ESPN Analytics. If WVU does what it's expected, like last year against Robert Morris, it should play more than just a few freshmen.
Based on what Rodriguez saw on the field, the trio did pretty well for true freshmen, but more will show when he watches tape.
“I have to watch the film to see how they graded,” Rodriguez said.