West Virginia is in the midst of a roster overhaul as new head coach Rich Rodriguez starts to build from the ground up. In the last weeks, the Mountaineers have lost dozens of players either to the transfer portal or to eligibility loss, and we look at how much production from this past season will not be returning.
On defense, there have been almost 20 guys who are set to depart from the program, but only about 15 saw significant playing time. Out of the 17 who are departing, eight have entered the transfer portal, and nine are out of eligibility.
In total, the West Virginia defense totaled 9,426 snaps on defense. Out of the 17 guys they are losing, they accounted for 7,114 of those snaps, which is just over 75 percent. 65 percent of that was lost due to eligibility, with guys like Tyrin Bradley, Garnett Hollis, Sean Martin, and Anthony Wilson running out of eligibility, but all saw high snap counts. The other 35 percent was lost due to the transfer portal, with Jaheem Joseph, Trey Lathan, and Josiah Trotter being the key contributors there.
On the back end of the defense, almost 70 percent was lost due to eligibility, while 60 percent of the defensive line and linebacker production that's not returning is due to a loss of eligibility.
Across the defense, a lot of the on-field production is also not returning in 2025.
West Virginia lost their top four tacklers, whether due to eligibility or to the transfer portal. They also lost their top four leaders in tackles for a loss and four of their top five finishers in sacks.
The biggest names to hit the portal in terms of production were Lathan and Trotter. Lathan and Trotter were second and third, respectively, on the Mountaineers in tackles, while they also both contributed either in TFLs or with an interception.
West Virginia finished 2024 with five interceptions, and everyone who got an interception will not be returning next season. Anthony Wilson led the team with two interceptions, but he is now out of eligibility. Bradley, Joseph, and Trotter accounted for the other three picks.
Overall, the loss of production on defense stems more from a player losing eligibility rather than a player entering the transfer portal.
West Virginia lost 72 percent of their tackling production, and 60 percent of those were guys who ran out of eligibility. It's a similar trend with TFLs and sacks. West Virginia lost 76 percent of their tackles for loss production, and over 70 percent was lost due to eligibility. The Mountaineers lost 72 percent of their sack production, and almost 83 percent was lost to eligibility.
West Virginia's top playmakers were mostly not returning due to eligibility. While there were high-volume guys such as Lathan and Trotter who tallied high tackle totals, the bulk of West Virginia's production that was lost was lost due to guys not having any remaining eligibility.
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