WVU doing the linebacker shuffle this spring
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson isn’t sure what he did, but it had to be something.
Yet again, the defensive unit has been hit with an injury to a player that was set to see significant time this fall, if not eventually start in senior Quondarius Qualls with an ACL issue.
West Virginia was already without one starter at the linebacker spot this spring as redshirt junior David Long was sitting out as he recovered from shoulder surgery but now you can add Qualls to that list.
Gibson expects that Qualls will indeed be back in August or September, a bonus of the early spring practice schedule, but in the meantime it’s going to force others to rise to the occasion.
“Qualls was really coming on and it’s just a shame what happened,” Gibson said. “…He’s got a redshirt year but he’s the type of worker that could get back.”
The defense already had to replace two of its three starters and now with Qualls out of the mix at the SAM spot that is going to force redshirt sophomore and junior college transfer Charlie Benton into more reps. He was already in a battle with Qualls before the injury and now will be the front runner for the role.
Complicating matters further is one of the standouts of the winter in Exree Loe will not be able to participate due to a pectoral injury so Benton will receive the lion’s share of the work.
“Benton is getting a lot more reps and it forces him to step up,” Gibson said.
With Qualls and Loe on the shelf, the Mountaineers are preparing to slide redshirt sophomore Brendan Ferns over to get him some time at SAM after he has almost exclusively played MIKE linebacker.
In the absence of Long at WILL, the biggest beneficiary this spring has been freshman Josh Chandler who enrolled at the mid-term and has seen the most action. While it’s clearly Long’s job when he returns the depth is only going to make the backups more seasoned in the fall.
The one spot that appears to be set in stone not only in the spring but heading into the fall is in the middle where redshirt sophomore Dylan Tonkery, who filled both outside spots last year, has been moved. The decision came just a few weeks after the bowl game and Tonkery didn’t ask any questions.
It’s a natural move for Tonkery who believes he is a better fit on the inside in large part because he doesn’t have as much responsibility in the passing game.
“You’ve just got to run through your gap,” he said. “That’s pretty much all you’ve got to do.”
It’s a position that Gibson has been pleased with to date and the other linebackers on the roster such as Adam Hensley and Zach Sandwisch also have been getting valuable reps this spring. But in live drills, the unit has been holding its own against the offense.
“They understand gap integrity and we’re holding them accountable for giving up their gap,” he said.
The group will receive an obvious boost when Long and possibly Qualls returns this fall, but for now it has been a valuable learning ground for a position that is relatively green.
Now they just need to keep them healthy.
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