Who mans the middle?
Any way you slice it West Virginia is going to have a new man in the middle.
Middle of the defensive line that is.
After the graduation of Darrien Howard, the Mountaineers are in the hunt for a new nose guard that will serve as the glue for the efforts up front. It’s an integral piece to the success of Tony Gibson’s 3-3-5 odd-stack as the nose guard is responsible for plugging holes and often operating out-manned.
"We've got a lot of work to do. We're repping three or four guys and may the best man win," Gibson said.
There is currently no shortage of candidates for the job on the Mountaineers roster, but on the field experience is another deal altogether. Position coach Bruce Tall has been impressed with the development in the weight room at the position and believes it could be some of the best competition on the team.
So let’s spin the wheel a bit.
There are three primary candidates for the post in redshirt senior Xavier Pegues, redshirt junior Jaleel Fields and junior Jalen Harvey. While each show seasoning with their class standing, combined they’ve seen action in only four games at West Virginia with all of that going to Fields’ credit.
Not an ideal situation, but also not a dire one either. Looking at all three of the options there are things to like and concerns, but the fact the Mountaineers have multiple options is nothing but a good thing.
Pegues was junior college prospect that redshirted during his first season and then sustained a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined throughout all of last year. While he did work with the first team unit at the position through most of spring and has both the size and experience with the system to handle the role, it’s hard to say just how well until live bullets start flying. But if you had to handicap the race, as of today Pegues is likely the leader in the clubhouse based on how he finished spring.
"Once we put him there in the spring he got the hang of it," Gibson said.
Fields saw action in four games as a redshirt freshman mostly in mop up duty as he served his role as a depth piece. He was in line to back up Howard last year before sustaining a knee injury that would cost him the entire season. While he does have the most on the field experience of the group, it’s a far cry from what the Mountaineers have lost in the veteran Howard but experience is experience.
Next that brings us to Harvey who enrolled in Morgantown in January in order to jump start his college career and saw reps during the course of spring drills before being sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
Others that could see time are true freshman Lamonte McDougle, who impressed early in camp with his explosiveness and strength, as well as Jon Lewis who has experience there in the Mountaineers nickel package the past couple seasons.
Filling the shoes of Howard will be no easy task, as the senior finished fifth on the team with 66 tackles from that spot while recording six tackles for loss and three sacks. Not too shabby for a position that hasn’t been universally known as one that is a hotbed for making plays.
Replacing that type of production might be a difficult task for either of the three candidates, but they don’t necessarily have to individually. The Mountaineers could easily look to create a rotation at the spot in order to maximize the strengths of each individual player and keep them fresh throughout the course of the 12-game schedule.
As long as the nose guard plays his role and occupies his gap in tandem with the middle linebacker, the Mountaineers defense can and will have success.
The West Virginia defense will be tasked with replacing several others as well including both of the other spots up front, at SAM linebacker, a pair of cornerbacks and two of the three safeties. That means Gibson will have as many as eight new starters, although the return of Dravon Askew-Henry at free safety will help soften that blow some.
However, with fall camp underway all eyes will be on the middle.