WVU has experience, competition ready on defense

If you ask Dana Holgorsen, this year’s defense isn’t going to be any different than the last two.

Yes, there are some new starters stepping in for the Mountaineers but not many new faces. That alone has been the major difference in the on the field improvement of the group since the fledgling units of past.

West Virginia will have at least nine new starters from the end of last season when the Mountaineers open fall camp next weekend, but that stat alone is a little misleading.

One of those player that doesn’t factor into the returning starter mark might have been the best player on last year’s defense in Dravon Askew-Henry prior to injuring his knee and missing the remainder of the season before it began. Another in redshirt sophomore David Long is injured and will not begin the season starting.

It’s not too different from what occurred last season when the defense was forced to replace the majority of its starters but program depth allowed many players that had previous in-game experience the opportunity to step in and fill those roles. The results were obvious, as the Mountaineers fielded statistically the best defense in the Big 12 Conference considering the slate of league games.

Looking further at the recently released depth chart, 15 of the 22 players listed are either juniors or seniors. And most of the remainder of the defense has seen experience on the field outside a few standout newcomers.

That’s a far cry from the initial depth chart for the 2012 season which included close to a dozen newcomers either from the high school or junior college ranks.

Even spots that could be considered question marks such as cornerback, West Virginia has depth with three seniors in Elijah Battle, Mike Daniels and Syracuse graduate transfer Corey Winfield, as well as the spring standout in redshirt sophomore Hakeem Bailey. That’s a situation that as a coach you prefer as opposed to forcing many of the younger players on the roster into action too early.

“That exists on every spot on defense,” Holgorsen said.

That’s not to say there aren’t holes to fill and questions that will need answered. One of those is going to be who will fill the role of Long at WILL linebacker after Holgorsen confirmed that a non-contact knee injury will keep him out through training camp and early into the season.

An unfortunate blow, considering Long was one of the standouts of the spring.

But it’s a situation West Virginia is familiar with after losing Karl Joseph and then Askew-Henry for the entire season. But the defense persevered.

“If anybody has dealt with this It’s been us,” Holgorsen said. “So we’ve always had guys step up and play.”

Filling the role of Long for a few games until he returns could be redshirt freshman Dylan Tonkery, who was one of the surprises during the spring and has continued that play into the summer. There are several other options that also could challenge for the role, adding to the talent level.

“We have options at linebacker that are ready to step up,” Holgorsen said.

That’s been the biggest difference with the defense as West Virginia as properly cultivated depth and experience to help combat turnover or injuries.

It’s business as usual.