West Virginia returns a lot from a defensive unit that was one of the best in the nation a year ago but there is still one significant concern.

The Mountaineers defense finished as the No. 4 overall unit in all of college football allowing only 291.4 yards per game and was perched at 21st nationally at 20.5 points surrendered per game. And with 12 of the top 20 players in terms of snaps played back, there is plenty of experience returning.

But while the first team unit is laden with experience, finding those on that second and third team that will serve as depth pieces is the biggest challenge for coordinator Jordan Lesley.

“Big thing for us is quality depth,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to develop.”

That’s especially important because West Virginia will likely play at least three additional games by season’s end meaning that more snaps are there for the taking overall on that side of the ball.

That’s depth at all the key positions as Lesley points to players such as Jordan Jefferson and Sean Martin up front, James Thomas at linebacker and many different players in the secondary as examples. The Mountaineers need those younger players to develop into roles where they can help the more experienced and seasoned front waves of the defense on a weekly basis.

And that is going to be more difficult than normal just because while many of those are second year players, they weren’t able to experience the traditional year of development. The Mountaineers only played 10 games last year due to COVID-19 and dealt with a different fall camp schedule and practice habits across the board due to the pandemic.

That wasn’t fair for those players that make significant leaps in their second years in a program.

One of those that had to play earlier than expected was Jefferson who served as a backup nose tackle in his true freshman season then spent last year trying to play catch up. The Florida native was thrust into the lineup before he was ready due to depth and last year was a victim of how Lesley called the defense.

“A lot of things last year that I really had to do for Darius (Stills), didn’t really fit Jordan’s skill set which was fine. We just had to move him around and knew we were going to be a little unproven,” he said. “We had to be creative with what we did up front which also isn’t what Jordan is dynamic at.”

But with another year under his belt, Lesley believes that now Jefferson is ready to take that next step and become a solid contributor up front in his third year with the Mountaineers. And because Stills has now graduated, West Virginia will be attacking differently.

“You need a different skill set in different situations so now his role will increase,” he said. “He’s had a great off-season. I don’t know if he’s the strongest guy but if not, top three. He’s needed.”

Jefferson is far from the only example however, as Kerry Martin, Davis Mallinger, Aubrey Burks and more are going to be key pieces in the secondary as well.

Finding the right combinations will be critical as the Mountaineers piece together what the defense is going to look like in 2021. The base is there for another impressive campaign but finding the right fits when it comes to the depth behind the starters will tell the story of how far this unit can go.

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