West Virginia knew it had some work to do on the defensive front.

Admittedly the weak link of the entire defense a year ago, the Mountaineers had undergone some changes from the group with two players transferring out of the program with eligibility still in-tact after Adam Shuler and Lamonte McDougle packed up and left.

That left some holes to fill and the Mountaineers needed experience to fill it, so the coaching staff decided to use an old friend in the graduate transfer market.