MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For the first time in his four seasons as a member of West Virginia’s coaching staff, Sean Reagan believes the Mountaineers are comfortable playing up to three different tight ends.
That’s welcome news for Reagan, who is serving as tight ends coach for the first time in a 25-year coaching career that dates back to his days as an assistant coach at Rockdale High School in Georgia beginning in 1998. It was part of the reshuffling of the Mountaineers’ staff in February following the additions of Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator and Tony Washington as wide receivers coach and the departure of previous offensive coordinator and wideouts coach Gerad Parker.
“We’re pretty pleased where we’re at in that room right now,” Reagan said. “We’re as deep as we’ve been with guys that can help us play. Probably for the first time since I’ve been here, we’re truly three deep at tight end. In the past, we’ve had bodies, but playing wise, we’ve probably been a max two deep and some games we’ve gone in with one.
“Right now, we’re three deep at tight end and we have a lot of trust in Mike O’Laughlin, Brian Polendey and Treylan Davis.”
That depth could be of added importance considering O’Laughlin missed the second half of last season with the second season-ending knee injury of his college career. O’Laughlin was redshirted in 2018 when he suffered the season-ending setback in preseason camp. He missed the first two games of the 2021 campaign with a lower leg issue, then played in five before being sidelined for the season in a victory at TCU.
O’Laughlin, who missed all of spring practice, is expected to play September 1 in the season opener at Pitt. Reagan said his involvement has increased as preseason camp has progressed, though it’ll mark O’Laughlin’s first game action in more than nine months.
“He went full go [Sunday] and got some 11-on-11 work in. Mike O.’s a good player. We still have 10 days left, so he has plenty of time to get into the groove of it. He got cleared. The big thing is going to be the conditioning level for how much he can go, but I anticipate him playing and playing enough.”
While Reagan is comfortable with what’s behind O’Laughlin, there’s no way to duplicate the 830 snaps he’s played in over 26 career games at WVU.
O’Laughlin, at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, also adds an element of versatility to the Mountaineers’ offense as his pass-catching skills have been showcased more than Polendey and Davis to this point.
“He’s more of a dual threat in the run and pass game,” Reagan said. “Just a little bit more athletic. Not saying that the other two aren’t, but he’s probably a little faster and he’s got more experience in the pass game than the other two.”
Polendey has plenty of experience, though none at West Virginia.
The 2022 season marks Polendey’s sixth and final one collegiately, having spent the first three at Miami and the last two at Colorado State.
He has almost exclusively been a blocking tight end at both stops, and though the WVU coaching staff has praised Polendey for his improvement as a route runner and pass catcher, it appears unlikely his primary task as a Mountaineer won’t be as a blocker.
“He’s really good in the run game and a has a good understanding of box numbers and what we’re trying to do,” Reagan said. “We’ve simplified our rules in the tight end position so that we can play faster. He has a really good understanding of it. If you can get to a point where you put him and Mike in the game at the same time, you have a pretty good 12 personnel set that you can be versatile in. We’ll have to see how that goes game plan to game plan and how much Mike can play.”
Davis was used in a very limited capacity during a redshirt season in 2021, but has separated himself from the team’s other tight ends that lack experience.
Should O’Laughlin be on a limited snap count to at least start the season, Davis could find himself thrown into the fire.
“Treylan Davis just hasn’t played a whole lot, but he may be the most improved player in the room if I’m telling the truth,” Reagan said.
As for the change in his responsibilities, Reagan, who worked with quarterbacks, running backs and was co-offensive coordinator on Neal Brown’s staff at Troy, has taken it in stride.
“As long as us as coaches don’t try to overcomplicate it, it’s football. It’s about blocking, tackling, catching and running,” Reagan said. “If you can keep it simple for whatever position you’re coaching, your guys can play fast and that’s what our job is all about.”