Circumstances lead to spring changes at spear for West Virginia
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West Virginia will be without one expected starter in the secondary this spring due to an unfortunate incident which will force some adjustments.
That unfortunate circumstance occurred earlier this spring when Saint McLeod was the victim of a stabbing which sent him to the hospital.
McLeod, a 20-year-old sophomore from Philadelphia, was stabbed around 1:15 a.m. Saturday March 5 after an incident at 344 High Street. That is a bar called The Bank and the stabbing is said to have taken place outside following an incident inside the establishment.
McLeod underwent surgery for severe lacerations to his back and stomach at Ruby Memorial and has since been recovering although that will obviously keep him out through the duration of spring ball.
“He’s doing well, he’s in good spirits,” head coach Neal Brown said.
McLeod appeared in 8 of the total 13 games last season and made a total of 21 tackles while forcing a pair of fumbles and developing into a solid contributor for the defense.
For now, there is no timeline on when McLeod will recover and it isn’t something that is an easy as a sprained ankle but Brown said he is expected to make a full recovery when that time comes.
In the meantime, redshirt freshman Davis Mallinger has slid down into his role at spear and is competing with former walk-on Naim Muhammad. The latter got hurt last season and missed most of the year with a lower leg injury, but he displays the ability to run and the time is now to make strides on the field.
When it comes to Mallinger, the Florida native is very athletic and can slide around to several spots while he’s also gotten a taste of game action last season across four games.
The Mountaineers also are exploring some ways to get bigger bodies on the field in that position with both linebackers Lance Dixon and Exree Loe being utilized. The defense has been hurt with teams running to the field in the past, which getting bigger bodies out there would be a way to combat that.
West Virginia also has added a transfer in North Dakota State linebacker Jasir Cox who could play the position and was highly productive last season at the FCS level.
Regardless this spring will be interesting to see how things develop until McLeod returns.
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