What Might Have Been: A Spring Game - And Now Offseason Primer: Defense
Worries along the front and a linebacking corps again beset by injury. Those are the immediate defensive concerns out of spring practice for West Virginia, which wrapped this week despite the cancellation of the Gold-Blue game.
The second in our three-part series (LINK: offense initially and special teams to come), here's a look at all three levels of the odd stack, and how WVU could begin to fill in holes at nose tackle, two linebacker slots and multiple positions in the secondary which remain vastly unsettled.
Defensive Line
What West Virginia assumed its defensive line would look like in mid-February and the shell of what it is now are almost as juxtaposed as possible. With the decision of end Adam Shuler to persue a discus career elsewhere and Lamonte McDougle's ideal that he could garner significantly more sacks and tackles in another system - one that apparently would allow for double-digit total sacks and routine eight-tackle games, if there exists such - WVU is sans two of its top five players.
There are, to be fair, doubts of whether Shuler would have held off Ezekiel Rose to maintain the starting strongside end slot. There was little questioning the raw talent of Shuler (6-4, 268), but it didn't translate to on-field production as well as desired, and by season's end Rose was blooming into the starter he expects to be this season.
At 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, Rose lacks the length of Shuler, but has a bit more weight and, after playing in all 13 games and starting three, has the experience in the 3-3-5 the Mountaineers are lacking nearly across the board. The Clarksdale, Miss. native finished with 23 tackles, 4.5 for loss, as a junior a year ago, and of now is penciled in opposite Reese Donahue.
Of the three starters from most of last season, Donahue is the last left. A rising junior, Donahue played the bowl game some 20 pounds lighter than his listed weight, but has since regained that and added trim muscle to his 6-4, 270-pound frame. The goal over spring was to play a bit heavier and see how comfortable Donahue was, and by all accounts that was a success.
Between Rose and Donahue is a major question mark. The departure of McDougle was a surprise, though perhaps it shouldn't have been for a player who is looking for his sixth school in as many years. The Mountaineers thrust Darius Stills (6-1, 288) into the position, and coordinator Tony Gibson said the sophomore has progressed well. Stills wouldn't be a 60 snaps per game player, however, and even the addition of his brother, Dante, to there along with Brenon Thrift didn't generate the kind of depth the Mountaineers desired.
If you don't have what is needed in house, the solution is to go shopping, and WVU did, bringing in five-star USC recruit Kenny Bigelow. A graduate transfer, the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder will get a chance at nose immediately. Bigelow has battled a pair of knee injuries during his career which have helped keep him off the field, and this is a high-level talent at a position of need.
The Mountaineers are also recruiting Clemson graduate transfer Jabril Robinson. At 6-2, 255 pounds, Robinson played 200-plus snaps for the Tigers last year and made 17 stops, but is stuck behind NFL tackles in an uber-deep CU front four. He would help on the exterior positions, using his quickness and burst, and would added needed depth should West Virginia secure his services.
That leaves Jeffrey Pooler and Stone Wolfley, among others, to fill in behind those slots, but WVU needs its top five to six, whomever that might be, to elevate their past play, especially with what's now a thinner linebacker group.
Linebackers
In a nutshell, there's this: Adam Hensley is listed as the starter at will, and he has 20 career games played, zero starts. Dylan Tonkery hits the refresher button again and slides from outside to the mike slot, but has lost his back-up as Brenden Ferns again tore an ACL and is expected to miss significant time. And David Long has missed all of spring recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
The projected starter on the strongside, Quandarious Qualls, also has an ACL injury and missed time in spring that will bleed into summer workouts, though the coaches hope to have him back sometime in the fall. Add in the pectoral muscle issue that caused sam linebacker Exree Lowe to miss the entire spring, and it is, frankly, nothing short of a MASH unit at the position.
That's left junior college 'backer Charlie Benton at at sam, backed by Parkersburg, W.Va. native Luke Williams. Hensley and Josh Chandler have held down the weakside, while Tonkery has played well at mike ahead of Zach Sandwisch.
There's not nearly enough depth of now, and until Gibson gets his pieces back, there's no putting together the middle of the odd stack. The return of Loe and hopefully Qualls as soon as possible helps, but Ferns' injury (his third in as many seasons with two ACLs and a shoulder) will linger, and force Sandwisch and to elevate his play and contribute. The worse news is there isn't much outside help in the offering. Freshman Josh Chandler is already with the team and practicing, while Tavis Lee won't arrive until the summer. The pair aren't yet ready to play snaps, and it's left West Virginia incredibly thin at the position right now - thin enough that the concern here is greater than even along the line due to the potential for grad transfers up front.
This is trouble for the Mountaineers of now, and Gibson has noted that even bringing in players at this point is difficult because of the run fits the linebackers and safeties have to understand. Corners and linemen are one thing - and those are targeted areas - but teaching the LB scheme to a grad or transfer player and expecting decent results is a stretch. Of now, WVU is what it is, and that's a beat-up bunch simply looking to limp into the summer and heal.
Cornerbacks
Another position of concern, the hope here is that Hakeem Bailey can hold down the left corner slot while in solid competition with Jake Long, while WVU explores options on the right with Derrek Pitts, Sean Mahone and Michigan transfer Keith Washington. Bailey played in 11 games last year, starting three, but saw a series of underwhelming performances derail some early promise.
Broken coverages against Virginia Tech and East Carolina hurt, and Bailey never flashed the confidence desired by Gibson and first-year position coach Doug Belk. He was displaced in the line-up, and could never truly regain the traction he had early. With the slate wiped clean by an offseason, Bailey went back to work and has established himself as at least the incumbent on one side while slowing regaining his moxie.
Just a junior, the Atlanta native has two seasons to contribute after making 35 tackles a season ago. He could face competition from potential UCLA grad transfer Denzel Fisher, who will take a visit to campus this weekend and would provide a solid addition to the secondary. Fisher, a Compton, Calif. native, has one season remaining after playing in 23 games over three seasons with the Bruins. At 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, Fisher has excellent size. He's not a shutdown-type player, but West Virginia needs experience and proven bodies at the position, and Fisher fits that mold.
Add him to a mix of Pitts, Washington and Mahone, and there's enough talent and ability there that whoever rises out of it should be steady and dependable. Pitts has flashed athleticism and confidence while playing in 10 games a year ago as a freshman, and the offseason has allowed him to add 10 pounds to a now 6-0, 182-pound frame.
Washington, a junior college transfer from Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.), played in nine games a year ago, tallying 20 tackles. A three-star player, Washington was also offered by Texas Tech and Kansas, and should provide adequate depth if he can't break into the starting two. Mahone (5-11, 198) is the thickest of the corners, and has now had two full offseasons in a collegiate weight room. He understands what the coaches are asking of him, but has to prove his ability on a down-in and -out basis to demand snaps.
In all, this is a unit that, like the rest of the defense, is still largely coming together. The addition of Fisher and the emergence of bailey, Pitts and Washington would go a long way to solving some issues. If a lesser percentage of those happen, the Mountaineers are again going to struggle to run the man coverage that allows Gibson to throw greater numbers at the pass rush. This defense is at times predicated upon solid corner play, and West Virginia badly needs it with the questions at linebacker and, of now, the front three.
Safeties
If there's any pattern here, it's that every single unit on this side of the ball has questions. There might be more surefire answers at safety, however, than anywhere else. The Mountaineers lost an NFL caliber player in Kyzir White, and have continued to mix and match by sliding former freshman All-Big 12 free safety Dravon Askew-Henry into White's vacated spur spot. Kenny Robinson has taken over at free, and it appears the brash young defender has a grasp on the position of now, especially as juco transfer Josh Norwood is going head-to-head with Toyous Avery at bandit.
With Robinson, Askew-Henry and either Norwood or Avery, WVU has a solid top three as long as Robinson maintains his established level after a true freshman season in which he played in 12 games, making 46 tackles with three interceptions, two of which were returned for scores against Oklahoma State and Texas. At a lengthy 6-foot-2, 204 pounds, Robinson has the range and instincts to be a natural on the back end.
Avery has proved more than serviceable, and has the ability to slide between spots as needed. With 19 games played and six starts, he is the third-most experienced player in the secondary behind Askew-Henry (39 games played, all starts) and back-up spur JoVanni Stewart (25 games played). He isn't flashy, but operates within the scheme effectively and is rarely out of position.
Norwood has more raw talent, and that will be a battle to watch well into fall camp as the savvy vet tries to hold on against a Northwest Mississippi transfer who was named All-NJCAA Region 23 First Team after making 71 tackles with five PBUs and a pick last year. This contest could rage well into the regular season and beyond, and it's worth a watch, especially with the early tests against Tennessee and a pass-heavy NC State offense in the nonconference.
A major question is whether Askew-Henry can return to the form he showed as a freshman and into his sophomore season. After suffering an ACL tear before the 2016 season, his pursuit angles and tackling ability seemed to take a hit as he struggled to truly trust the knee again. It led to an underwhelming junior year in 2017, when the Aliquippa, Pa. native made 57 tackles, but couldn't quite find the same gear or fierce tackling ability he had shown.
That confidence seemed restored this spring, with both Gibson and safeties coach Matt Caponi praising Askew-Henry and noting that he is playing more like a senior in preparation for his final collegiate go-around. If that clicks in, and Askew-Henry is able to use his athleticism to make up for lost size at a physical position (White is 6-2, 218 to Askew-Henry's 6-0, 195), West Virginia appears in better shape here than at any other unit on the defense.
That it will also add four-star recruit Kwantel Raines in the summer only adds to the potential. Raines, another Aliquippa grad, is a 6-2, 200-pound projected spur who will, like Norwood and Avery, try to wrestle the spot from a veteran player. This was a huge get for the Mountaineers, and it both increases the talent on the roster and gives them a piece to build around in the future. The feel is Askew-Henry holds on, but Raines will make a push, likely getting playing time and setting himself up nicely for the coming seasons.
This was the second in a three-part series featuring West Virginia's offense, defense and special teams and the questions and potential answers following the completion of spring drills. Check back in the coming days for the final installation, when we take a look at the specialists, including the replacement at long snapper (enter WVU volleyball head coach Reed Sunahara's son Rex!) and the ongoing battle at placekicker between Evan Staley and Western Kentucky transfer Skyler Simcox.
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