West Virginia had some holes at safety and they might have an answer now to address it.
The Mountaineers two safety spots have undergone some significant changes even since the spring with all-Big 12 Conference first-team selection Kenny Robinson entering his name into the transfer portal and fellow projected starter Derrek Pitts backing up his bags and heading to Marshall.
There’s no-hard feeling between players to those that have left the program but the show must go on and it will be missing some rather important cast members.
That’s 22 starts and 55 combined games of experience that no longer will be patrolling the back end of the West Virginia defense this fall. There were certainly other options on the roster such as a pair of redshirt juniors in Jake Long and Sean Mahone but they only have appeared in 11 combined games and much of that was as a reserve or on special teams.
There are freshmen or newcomers that could step into the role as well such as Kerry Martin, who spent the spring working with the free safety spot and has become one of the more vocal players at the position or perhaps even Noah Guzman who arrived for the second summer session with a year of junior college already under his belt earning all-conference honors.
But perhaps the best choice comes from a completely different position altogether in last season’s starting cornerback Josh Norwood. The Georgia native has made the move to work out with the safeties during the summer and has been the leader of the position according to other players.
The summer workouts are player driven which helps develop those leadership qualities. Norwood has experience on the field starting 10 games last season and participating in 12 total contests. He also already has experience at the safety position after playing there during his days at Northwest Mississippi C.C. where he earned first-team all All-MACJC honors finishing with 71 tackles.
A physical cornerback, Norwood could potentially fill a role as either the free or strong safety in the defense and provides a much needed boost in the back end of the defense. He also has the type of personality to take charge and breathe some confidence into that group.
“Josh Norwood recently got moved to safety which should be a big help,” safety JoVanni Stewart said.
If the Mountaineers can cover the loss that moving Norwood from cornerback will have, the move makes sense not only from a perspective of getting your best players on the field but is a more natural fit for the skill set of the senior. He is skilled at tracking the ball and the physical element makes him an attractive piece to help cover the losses that the program has sustained there.
It isn’t a sure thing Norwood will stick at safety but he was already expected to be a big piece in the West Virginia defense just that now could be at a different spot altogether.
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