Depth a concern but bigger is better on the WVU defensive line
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson didn’t hesitate when asked his biggest concern for his group entering spring practice. And it isn’t what you’d think.
While cornerback has low scholarship numbers and appeared to be the center of worries, it’s actually a spot that Gibson believes is better off than it appears.
“We are in a better situation now than we were a year ago,” he chimed in.
Defensive line is another story.
After the departures of Adam Shuler and Jaleel Fields the Mountaineers are down to a total of six scholarship defensive linemen currently on campus and one of those is out for the spring in sophomore Lamonte McDougle as he is recovering from shoulder surgery.
The news gets better this fall with three freshmen set to join the team, but the numbers are alarming.
“I like our top three, four guys but we need to play with six or seven,” Gibson said.
But the Mountaineers aren’t just sitting on their hands. The coaching staff has two scholarships to possibly allot to the position if West Virginia finds the right pieces on the transfer or junior college market. Easier said than done, but it’s a formula that has been successful over the years.
“It’s a concern right now; we’re out there looking to see if we can fix it,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said of the numbers on the defensive front.
But that’s the future, looking at the present the Mountaineers will line up junior Reese Donahue at one end and senior Ezekiel Rose at the other. While McDougle is on the mend a combination of sophomore Darius Stills and senior Brennon Thrift are handling the nose guard position after moving there.
Thrift is an intriguing prospect to help as a walk-on transfer from Penn State given his size at 6-foot-3, 280-pounds, and his ability to hold the point, Gibson said.
Part of the plan this off-season was for the current players to add weight and get bigger, so far mission accomplished with Donahue tipping the scales at 280-pounds and several others showing similar gains such as Rose and redshirt sophomore Jeffery Pooler who is repping with the second team at end.
“I wish I could give them some of my weight,” Gibson joked.
Each of the three incoming signees also have the size to contribute immediately and that will be the plan when the three arrive this summer giving the team nine total players. The lightest option on the defensive line is local product Dante Stills and he tips scales at 285-pounds.
“We like that,” Gibson added.
The focus of getting bigger up front isn’t a complicated one. It is simply to have the size and strength to plug and maintain gaps, while allowing the second and third levels to clean up tackles.
The bigger, the better.
The Mountaineers have had the most success when they were equipped with larger defensive linemen that could take on double teams. So the goal is to get back to it.
“We need to get that ball to the sideline instead of right down the middle of our defense,” Gibson said.
And find some more numbers in the process.
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