It’s not often that West Virginia is able to stash a 6-foot-7, 300-pound defensive lineman on the second team, but first-year defensive line coach Andrew Jackson seems to have lucked out.

The enormous defender in question would be Darel Middleton, who transferred to WVU from Tennessee shortly before the beginning of fall camp. He’s one of a handful of reserves that have been making themselves known through the first week of preseason practice.

“I really like the second unit guys going in,” Jackson said, “whether it’s Jalen Thornton going in there, Darel Middleton, Taurus Simmons, Jordan Jefferson — those guys have done a really good job pushing our first guys who, obviously, are getting a lot of attention.”

Due to his stature, Middleton is often the one drawing the most eyes. He came to Morgantown after playing in 22 games with the Volunteers over the last two seasons.

“I love when my guys tower over me,” Jackson said with a smile. “I like being the smallest guy in the room.”

Middleton is still a work in progress conditioning-wise according to Jackson, but the coach envisions that he will be ready come Sept. 4’s season opener at Maryland.

Outside of Middleton, redshirt sophomore Thornton has also been one to impress during preseason practice.

“He’s come along great,” Jackson said. “For Jalen, it’s more of just being confident in his abilities. I always tell him ‘Your confidence in yourself has to be higher than what I think of you.’ I think the world of him. He’s in a great mental space and that’s where it is for him, just believing he can go out there and do it.”

Thornton played in 10 games last season, totaling five tackles. He’s seen as the likely back up to Dante Stills at defensive tackle.

Sean Martin, who is entering his second season on campus, is likely to see his first real action on the defensive line in 2021. He missed some time due to COVID-19-related contact tracing last season, but did play in five games on special teams.

“I think he can help us out in pass rush scenarios right now,” Jackson said. “He’s got so much length. He’s gotten stronger. He’s twitchy. I think it’d be hard for any tackle to get their hands on him, so I think he could fill in for more of a pass rush role early on and then get him in more in mixed down situations.”

The depth is critical for how Jackson wants to operate his unit in 2021. With college football seemingly getting faster and faster each season, the ability to make quick rotations without dipping on-field productivity has become a necessity.

“Eight to nine [players] is comfortable; I like playing multiple guys,” Jackson said. “I’m not saying it’s going to be like hockey where we’re going to be jumping over the wall three at a time, but I don’t think defensive line is a position you can play tired. I think if you play guys too long, they get worn down and then you’re not where you want to be in the fourth quarter.”

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