West Virginia's preseason depth chart was recently released and presents an early look at where players lie at their respective positions ahead of fall camp.
Although preseason depth charts are bound to change as fall camp and the season get underway, WVSports.com analyzes this preseason depth chart and breaks down the personnel at each position.
READ: A closer look at West Virginia football's preseason depth chart: Offense
Today we take a closer look at the defense.
Defensive Tackle:
Reese Donahue or Dante Stills
Nose Tackle:
Darius Stills
Brenon Thrift
Defensive End:
Taijh Alston
Jeffery Pooler
Quondarius Qualls
BANDIT:
VanDarius Cowan
Zach Sandwisch
Charlie Benton
You could argue that Donahue not being the clear starter at defensive tackle is a little surprising since he is the most proven and experienced, but yet again, you can argue that it’s not considering the amount of depth at this slot.
Dante Stills impressed last season as a true freshman by tallying three sacks, the third-most on the team, but no matter who’s the starter, it’s more than likely you’ll see both rotating in.
Alston is entering his first season with the Mountaineers after transferring from Copiah Lincoln Community College and is coming off an impressive spring. Darius Stills has also emerged as the frontrunner to replace Kenny Bigelow at nose tackle.
At BANDIT, Cowan is a natural fit for the hybrid position given his size, length and pass rushing ability but the two behind him also have the potential to produce at the position.
There’s a lot to like about this group including the depth which features Jeffrey Pooler, another player who progressed and improved greatly over spring.
Another thing to keep in mind is there’ll be more depth and players added to the mix in freshmen Jordan Jefferson and Jalen Thornton as well as Michigan graduate transfer Reuben Jones.
WILL Linebacker:
Josh Chandler
Deamonte Lindsay or Exree Loe
MIKE Linebacker:
Dylan Tonkery
Jake Abbott or Shea Campbell
SPEAR:
JoVanni Stewart
Kwantel Raines
The linebacker slots are pretty straight forward here.
Tonkery is without a doubt the man in the middle and Chandler is occupying the WILL vacancy left by last year’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and current Tennessee Titan David Long after a breakout spring.
Chandler was also one of four recipients of the Iron Mountaineer Award following spring, which are presented to the most outstanding performers in the program’s offseason strength and conditioning program.
The SPEAR position is very similar to the SPUR slot in West Virginia’s 3-3-5 defense under former defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, a hybrid between a linebacker and safety.
Stewart has been working there since the spring and that’s not much of a surprise given the fact that he made the move from safety to linebacker last season. Raines is also a natural fit for the position.
Cornerback:
Keith Washington
Nicktroy Fortune or Tae Mayo
Free Safety:
Dante Bonamico or Jake Long
Cat Safety:
Sean Mahone or Josh Norwood or Jake Long
Cornerback:
Hakeem Bailey
Dreshun Miller
Perhaps no position group faces more questions entering fall camp than West Virginia’s defensive backfield with starters Kenny Robinson and Derrek Pitts (Marshall) departing after spring as well as E.J. Brown entering the transfer portal.
These departures have led to Norman making the move from cornerback to one of the vacant safety spots which is actually a position he played in junior college.
First-year players such as freshman Tykee Smith and JUCO transfer Noah Guzman, not listed on the preseason depth chart, will have opportunities to provide depth and compete for playing time.
With Bailey and Washington listed as the starters at the cornerback positions, depth looks to be a concern with true freshmen listed behind them, but the coaches moving Norwood from cornerback to safety could mean that they feel confident enough in these first-year players to step up and contribute when needed.
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