There were multiple times in the second half against Iowa State that West Virginia was playing as many as five true freshmen on the defensive side of the ball on any given snap.

For some of those, it was either the first or most extensive action of their young careers.

It’s not necessarily a preference for any coaching staff when going against one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12 but that’s where the Mountaineers find themselves at this stage of the season.

“If you looked out there much of the second half you saw two true freshmen playing corner, true freshmen rotating in a lot at safety, a true freshman playing spear and a true freshman at nose a lot,” head coach Neal Brown said. “I thought we battled.”

The reasoning for so many freshmen on the field in high leverage situations is in large part due to both mounting injuries and roster turnover at various stages from the off-season until now.

West Virginia was already down one of their senior cornerbacks with Keith Washington getting hurt but lost the other after Hakeem Bailey was ejected in the second half due to targeting.

That forced true freshmen Fortune, who had seen limited action, and Mayo, who hadn’t played yet to date, onto the field at those spots. Fortune at least at the time to prepare for the role with a week of practice, but for Mayo it was unexpected as the original plan as to redshirt him.

While that could still be the case given the new rule which allows players to play in up to four games, he was given his first taste of college action against the Cyclones.

“It’s a really tough situation for him. It is what it is. Next week, it’s going to be a lot tougher so it’s what he came here for and we’re going to expect him to do the best he can and be competitive,” coordinator Vic Koenning said. “I have to do a better job of helping him.”

For Fortune, he was challenged early and often and finished the game with 8 tackles and a pass breakup while the starting spear safety Tykee Smith, who has been elevated to the starter there after JoVanni Stewart left the program after four-games, finished with 5 stops and a pick six.

With that young naturally comes mistakes, but what Koenning wants to see is that each of the freshmen play with a competitive edge and fly to the football. For the most part, that was unfolding.

“Nicktroy was competitive which is really good. Tykee was again competitive, he made more mistakes tonight than he did last week but I thought he was competitive,” Koenning said.

The last member of the secondary that was a true freshman was Kerry Martin, but he does have the advantage of spending the spring with the football program to help him acclimate. He finished with 2 tackles and a pair of pass breakups as he continues to adjust to that side after playing quarterback.

“I think Kerry has got a huge upside,” the veteran coordinator said.

The experience is something that is invaluable for the overall development of the young players on the roster, but it will also undoubtedly force some growing pains given their overall inexperience. That comes with the territory but is something that the coaches can build upon moving forward.

The good news about freshmen, is that they eventually become sophomores and juniors so the time on the field is something that is only going to fast-track each for the future. These are the building blocks of the defense down the line and those in the program certainly understand that aspect.

“I got to play some and I contributed. You’re not going to learn unless you get the experience,” said senior defensive end Reese Donahue, who played as a true freshman.

No, it isn’t a perfect situation but it’s the one that West Virginia will be in for the rest of the year as the coaches look to maximize these opportunities for not only growth this year but down the line. The offense also has played several true freshmen, but those players aren't being asked to shoulder the brunt of the snaps.

And the coaches aren’t going to be shy about throwing them out there.

“We need to have more new guys because we have some older guys that can’t do the little things right,” Koenning said. “Maybe we need younger guys.”

----------

• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.

• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel

• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @PatrickKotnik

•Like us on Facebook