CB Woods opens up aggressiveness for West Virginia defense

Charles Woods played every snap against TCU.

And when the Mountaineers elected to get more aggressive in the second half his presence was a major reason for the success of the unit.

The defense had surrendered 332 yards and 28 points at halftime for an average of 13.28 yards per play against the Horned Frogs, so defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley made the adjustment to bring more pressure and play more man coverage on the outside.

The result was only 162 total yards and 13 points with Woods primarily playing coverage on standout Horned Frogs wide receiver Quentin Johnston.

“If you would ask him he’s not 100-percent but he played and he was matched up with Quentin Johnston a lot and he held his own,” head coach Neal Brown said. “I think part of the reason we played better in the second half is we could do some things coverage wise that we haven’t been able to do because we felt good about him in one-on-one.”

It isn’t overly complicated as adding Woods, who was a pre-season Big 12 selection at cornerback, gives the Mountaineers more options than they’ve had without him. He has the ability to play man coverage on one side of the field which allows the defense to play to its strength.

And that’s getting the defensive front in one-on-one pass rushing situations.

“Charles allows us to do that and we can play some different coverage types because he doesn’t need as much help,” Brown said.

The presence of Woods allowed the Mountaineers to do more with their coverage structure and open up the defense to be more aggressive with blitzes and what they can do in various areas.

He additionally brought with him a sense of confidence that had largely been missing.

“When you pressure a lot you’re going to have to play some man and the adjustments are much easier than the zone pressure scheme. When you get Woods back for a full game you can do that,” Lesley said.

This could be an example of things to come moving forward as the Mountaineers had success bringing pressure and playing with more aggressive tendencies. West Virginia will have another battle with a big-bodied wide receiver for the Cyclones against Xavier Hutchinson.

“He doesn’t hesitate he doesn’t think about it he just plays. Gets his hands on the guy and plays physical. You have to match strength with strength and if not you’re going to be playing on your heels all day,”

While Woods will only continue to get healthier, the other three cornerbacks in Rashad Ajayi, Wesley McCormick and Jacolby Spells could be back on the field against Iowa State. Each have dealt with injuries over the past few weeks and gives the program even more options in the back end.

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