West Virginia plans to make at least some changes on the defensive side of the ball.
The Mountaineers had some success down the stretch run of last season on that side of the ball after a difficult start to the year. It's a necessity that the defense goes back to the standard that has been set instead of what unfolded for large stretches last season.
The Mountaineers surrendered just 20.5 points per game in 2020 and 23.85 in 2021 but this past season the defense allowed 32.92 points ranking near the bottom in all of college football. It was a significant step back for a unit that has been depended on during to head coach Neal Brown's tenure atop the program.
Some of that can be attributed to youth and newcomers on that side of the ball, but in the end the defense simply didn't get the job done.
If you're searching for any type of positives, there were at least a few at the end of the year with how the defense played.
The defense allowed only 20 points or less in two of the final three games and outside a very bad first half against Kansas State, permitted only 7 points in the second half of that one. That clearly doesn't forgive the 41 points allowed in the first half, but at least for the most part you could see signs of improvement.
This past year's performance obviously not good enough as the overall record sat at 5-7, but it was encouraging to Brown that the defense was playing their best football at the end much like they did during the 2019 season. That year, the defense allowed 28.8 points per game on the year but over the final three that total was just 19.
“The last third of the season we played good defense,” Brown said.
But the Mountaineers want to make some schematic changes heading into this coming season especially in the secondary. Some of that can come from adding different players to the roster through the transfer portal and other means to acquire more length and speed.
Montre Miller a graduate transfer from Kent State is a good start there with a 5-foot-10 frame equipped with both length and speed. He also has experienced starting 23 games over the past two seasons and recording 115 tackles and 6 interceptions in his career. Beanie Bishop was another defensive back with plenty of time on the field during his career and was an all-conference player at Western Kentucky.
An all-conference safety in Anthony Wilson also was added after a season where he recorded over 100 tackles and was a standout at Georgia Southern.
The Mountaineers needed to do a better overall job when it comes to hitting in the transfer portal this off-season when it comes to increasing team speed with players that are going to be able to help. That wasn't lost on the coaching staff and was a primary focus when it came to addressing the needs in the secondary.
But there are some other things that need to be addressed as well. The defense wants to be more versatile overall and that means being longer and having that ability to run.
The goal is to be able to provide different looks out of the same personnel groupings. The ability to have cornerbacks that can play man coverage also affords the pass rush extra ammunition and while it was something that the coaches tried to do last year at times, it wasn’t successful.
Being able to do that should certainly help the defense overall and it starts with trust in the options on the field. Can they do what is asked in man coverage?
Again, some of that comes back to adding the right type of talent to those positions rooms which the program believes it has but the Mountaineers have goals on what they want the defense to look like in 2023. Can they achieve them?
“The more athletic and the longer you get defensively, the more opportunity you have to do that,” Brown said of the defense.
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