WV Preseason Spotlight: Taylor County

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we reach the two-month window until the 2023 football season begins, we will spotlight some of West Virginia's prospects to watch for this season. Today we will focus on Taylor County. Here are some prospects you need to keep an eye on in Taylor County for the 2023 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["865702"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":894552,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"2025 Grafton QB [player_tooltip player_id='865702' first='Cam' last='Foley'] is quickly seeing his stock rise after a solid sophomore campaign for the Bearcats. I got to see Foley in person at the GCOH Performance Exposure Camp in early June and he was one of my camp standouts. He's put together well for a rising junior at 6'0 200 and his arm strength is what really popped when watching his sophomore highlights. Foley can really stretch the field with his arm and I love the way the ball comes off his hand. His mechanics appear to be sharp and looks textbook. Foley is your classic pro-style pocket-passing QB that can throw strikes from the pocket. I'm really high on this 2025 QB and I expect he'll be among the top 2025 QBs in our rankings update coming soon.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/profile/14996448/Cam-Foleyu0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e | u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/camfoley15u0022u003eTwitteru003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["883592"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":894554,"_player_evaluations_1_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"I also got to see 2025 Grafton WR [player_tooltip player_id='883592' first='Dillan' last='America'] at the GCOH Performance Exposure Camp and this fellow Bearcat made my receiver standouts list. America was the second-leading receiver for the Bearcats last season as a sophomore and tallied over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was also the second leading tackler with 70 from his safety position where he could also play at the next level. America is a long target at 6'2 160 with still plenty of room to add some weight to his frame. He has a nice combination of size and speed and does a nice job grabbing 50/50 balls. The rising junior can make tough contested catches and uses his length to his advantage. He had some good clips of the intermediate passing game and is not just a deep ball specialist. This 2025 Bearcat is another name to watch for the next two seasons.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/profile/16350585/Dillan-Americau0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e | u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/dillanamerica31u0022u003eTwitteru003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["894623"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"The Grafton Bearcats have some serious young talent and after a tough 1-9 season in 2022, there is hope for the future. 2026 RB [player_tooltip player_id='894623' first='Kaden' last='Keener'] has a very promising future and is one of the top rising sophomore running backs in the state. Keener was the leading rusher for the Bearcats as a freshman and rushed for just under 500 yards and 4 touchdowns. He showed he was a very versatile player as a freshman and his coaches trusted him to do many different things. At 5'10 155 he's not the biggest kid right now but he is certainly not afraid of contact. Keener can run between the tackles or you can get him to the outside and he has the speed to run away from most defenders. You can even slide him out to the slot and have him be a pass catcher. Just to show you how tough he is Keener is also a starting linebacker on defense. Here's another young Bearcat to follow for the next three years.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/profile/14994856/Kaden-Keeneru0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e | u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/KadenKeeneru0022u003eTwitteru003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["896382"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Unfortunately, 2024 WR/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='896382' first='Isaac' last='Lough'] saw his junior season end way too early with a torn ACL in week two of the season. Lough was a big part of the Bearcats' offense in 2021 and now that he's fully healthy again he should have a big senior season. Lough can do a lot of different things and was a running back and receiver as a sophomore. He's a quick and fast athlete that does most of his damage from the slot receiver position. You can run some jet sweeps with him and if he gets a crease on the outside he can take it the distance. Lough is also a very dangerous returner and housed several as a sophomore. To show even more of his versatility, Lough can also take snaps as a Wildcat/Option QB and is very good in that part of the game as well. Now that he's fully healthy I would keep an eye on this 2024 athlete this season.rnrnu003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/profile/14894484/Isaac-Loughu0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e | u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/i_lough2u0022u003eTwitteru003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["896395"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"A 2025 specialist name to know for the 2023 season and beyond is Grafton's, [player_tooltip player_id='896395' first='Stratten' last='Wooddell']. Wooddell can handle every kicking and punting duty and is a versatile specialist. From watching his clips on Twitter I like the way the ball comes off his foot and he appears to have a big leg. Wooddell can stretch his field goal to the 50-yard range and hit a 50-yard punt during his sophomore season. He's been working with specialist coach/trainer Matt McCullough a lot this off-season and it should pay dividends for him this season and next.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eCheck out some of his training clips from earlier this year below.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.hudl.com/profile/15035132/Stratten-Wooddellu0022u003eHudlu003c/au003e | u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/StrattenW_6u0022u003eTwitteru003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64a5de359ef60"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/StrattenW_6/status/1640501435690278913?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/StrattenW_6/status/1640501435690278913?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->