West Virginia still has holes to fill on the defensive side through the transfer portal.
The program had a total of 19 players enter the transfer portal on the defensive side of the ball, including 15 of those who were previously on scholarship.
The biggest areas of attrition came on the defensive line with eight departures and in the defensive backfield with nine players entering the transfer portal. The majority of those were younger players with limited on-field experience.
That leaves the current scholarship situation with 14 defensive linemen, 12 linebackers/bandits, 11 safety/nickels, and 10 cornerbacks.
Part of the roster shakeup was by design as the Mountaineers assessed where the roster was at and made decisions on some players, while others could have determined that they didn’t like where they were on the depth chart after spring and exited.
So, now the goal is to fill those needs.
For West Virginia, the biggest needs, based on the scholarship offers sent out to portal targets, seem to be at linebacker and defensive line, while the secondary is still a priority given the right fits.
The Mountaineers have already added two portal additions from the spring window with Appalachian State cornerback Nick Taylor and Missouri defensive lineman Eddie Kelly.
Taylor, a young defensive back with three years left appeared in seven games as a true freshman with one start, while Kelly has played in 37 games in his career and been productive at three different stops.
“Obviously go out and address the needs in the portal,” coordinator Zac Alley said.
Given some of the attrition that occurred it makes filling those spots critical while also rounding out the other positions on the roster and working under the 105 roster limit.
And ultimately, it’s about piecing together the best possible roster in order to maximize what the Mountaineers are able to do on the defensive side of the ball.
“Put guys in position to be successful based on who’s on the team and what they do well,” Alley said. “If a guy doesn’t do something well, don’t ask him to do that. And I think we’ve done a great job historically in this defense of putting guys in position to win.”
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