Another fall, another interesting camp awaits for WVU CBs
Cornerback is one of the most interesting positions on the West Virginia roster heading into the season.
That’s because for the second year in a row the Mountaineers find themselves in an almost near-identical situation at that spot.
Being forced to replace not only the top three options from a season ago but the position coach as well, West Virginia has had its work cut out for it at that position.
Last spring it was then position coach Blue Adams that was faced with filling the holes left behind by Daryl Worley, Terrell Chestnut and Ricky Rumph with a cast of characters with limited experience.
That turned out O.K., as Rasul Douglas put together one of the best season’s in recent memory while others played their part, as well. Miami transfer Antonio Crawford filled his role, along with Iowa graduate transfer Maurice Fleming and Nana Kyeremeh filled in as a valuable depth piece.
It’s now an old fashioned case of déjà vu as new position coach Doug Belk inherits a group that while there are options to choose from does not have experience in a Mountaineers uniform.
One thing working in Belk’s favor is the fact that senior Elijah Battle played in 11 games a season ago, starting three, already giving more experience than the year before. The New Jersey native flashed his impressive abilities on multiple occasions in the 2016 campaign and will have every opportunity to earn one of those vacant starting roles for the Mountaineers.
Couple Battle’s on the field experience with what Syracuse graduate transfer Winfield will bring to the table as a two-year starter for the Orange and it’s a start in the right direction. Winfield has yet to see action for the Mountaineers and is dealing with an off the field issue, but will immediately add to the overall competition level in the room as somebody that has already done it at this level.
During the course of the spring, another junior college transfer in redshirt sophomore Hakeem Bailey stood out at the position after enrolling in January to start his college career. While no depth chart is set in stone, his performance in the drills is nothing but a good thing heading into the fall as the Mountaineers sort out the potential options.
One final piece when it comes to the veterans of the unit is senior Mike Daniels, who saw limited action during his initial season on campus but proved to be in much better physical and mental condition. Daniels saw action in only six games last season, mostly as a reserve, but was strongly in the mix throughout the spring and will be in line to compete for a much bigger chunk of snaps this fall.
Those four are not the only options either as West Virginia has a series of younger players that will compete for the vacant spots at cornerback including redshirt sophomore Fontez Davis, redshirt sophomore Jordan Adams, redshirt freshmen Sean Mahone and Jake Long and redshirt sophomore Kevin Williams.
But none of those players have seen meaningful snaps yet for the program.
While the spring has come and passed, there is no semblance of a depth chart yet but that is expected to start taking shape through the course of fall drills. However, the position coach was impressed with the competitive fire from his unit throughout the course of the 15-practices.
“Worry about personal improvement,” Belk said. “In fall camp the depth chart will be important.”
It’ll be another interesting fall on the islands in Morgantown.
--Subscribe today to stay up on the latest in Mountaineer sports and recruiting.