West Virginia heads into the 2024 season following a fall camp where the coaching staff feels as good as they have about the depth on the defensive side of the ball.
And that is due to far more than just simply talking about it.
That’s because, throughout the course of the build-up to the Penn State game, the various position battles on the roster were as competitive as they had been at most of the positions on the roster, especially in the areas of linebacker and secondary. That is fostered by an increase in talent on that side of the ball.
“That’s the only thing that really creates it is guys know I have good players around me, so I have to perform and execute every day,” defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “Through the spring we saw it in some positions but fall camp it was spread throughout the whole defense and that’s a good thing.”
There were tight battles at multiple positions, which is something that didn’t occur last season.
Now, depth in practice and proving it in games are two entirely different concepts but the second group on the roster made some significant strides. The linebacker position has the ability to go five deep if needed, while the coaching staff feels as good going into the season with the secondary as they have in recent years.
Meanwhile, the defensive line has already been rotating players for the past several years already.
“There were some really tight battles,” Lesley said.
Some of those players that have emerged throughout the course of the fall are redshirt freshman Josiah Trotter and sophomore Ben Cutter at linebacker. And then up front, others such as Fatorma Mulbah, Hammond Russell and Asani Redwood have all made strides.
“Those guys have really taken strides in simple things,” Lesley said.
Combine that with how junior cornerback Jacolby Spells has made improvements with how he is playing faster within the structure of the defense and transfer Garnett Hollis has performed well it’s improved that spot.
'And that doesn’t even take other transfers into account such as defensive lineman T.J. Jackson or cornerback Ayden Garnes to help round out the options.
Now, those players will need to prove it against a team as talented as Penn State, but the Mountaineers like where the program is at when it comes to depth and overall entering the year.
“I feel really good about it, I like the leadership on our team. We’re going to have a really good football team, and we’ve worked a long time to be able to peak at the right time,” head coach Neal Brown said.
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