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MORGANTOWN -- Junior Marcus Simms came to Morgantown with a lot of expectations. But, after two seasons in No. 9 West Virginia's offense the consensus Maryland all-state first-teamer had only shown glimpses of what made his such a sought-after player in 2015.
"I think he's playing at a very high level," offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said. "He's putting up great numbers, but from where he was at last year to where he's at this year, he's turning into an every-down guy for us.
"We put a lot on his shoulders not just from an offensive perspective but on special teams, as well. When you have that threat, he was making some big time catches on critical downs in the game. The way my brother put it to me after the game was that Will (Grier) has so much confidence in Marcus that the hit charts show the ball is being sprayed all over the field. It's very tough to defend that when you have three guys playing at a high level, and the ball is getting spread around evenly."
WVU's newest offensive weapon is coming off a nine-catch, 138-yard performance as the Mountaineers stayed unbeaten in 2018 with a 42-34 victory at Texas Tech.
"There's a lot," Spavital explained when asked what has changed with Simms. "I think the main thing is his conditioning. He's being able to play a lot of plays. The more conditioned he is, the more opportunities he has.
"It's funny, on his touchdown he had (against Texas Tech), right before the play he caught a slant, and I'm talking to him the whole time. I'm looking at him and asking, 'Are you all right? Are you OK?' It was because I wanted to take a shot to him. He looked at me and said he was fine. Then, he went and ran fast. Last year, after that, he wouldn't have been able to give the effort that he would have liked to on that, because he would be gassed. I just thought it was funny that he was able to go back-to-back plays consistently for us. That was probably the biggest difference for us."
The Mountaineers will need more of that kind of effort from the 6-footer as they look to stay unbeaten in Big 12 play (3-0) against a Kansas team that is coming off a 48-28 setback at home against No. 25 Oklahoma State.
"They're very multiple," Spavital said of Kansas. "They're a lot different than what they have been in the past. They were a four-down team all the time, and now, they're a three-down team. They'll sprinkle in four down, which is interesting to see. They're going to play coverage, and they're going to rally.
"They have some experienced guys that are mature, as well. Their two safeties -- No. 11 (Mike Lee) and 1 (Bryce Torneden) -- are very active players. Their linebackers have played for a long time and make a lot of tackles. I think what they try to do is keep you on your toes and catch you off guard. They're a three-down team with overhangs. So, they're going to blitz them and drop them. They're going to play man. They're going to drop eight. They're just going to try and keep you guessing. I think the one thing they do focus on is trying to keep everything in front of them. I think that's allowing them to have a little more success this year."
Making all of that a much more difficult thing to do is Simms, who leads the team in receptions (24) and yards receiving (433) and has reached the end zone twice.
In other game news:
∫ West Virginia's game at Iowa State next Saturday has been slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff with FS1 providing the coverage.