OUTLOOK defensive coordinator. Former Mountaineer standout linebacker Damon Cogdell, a highly successful coach at Miami’s Miramar High, will work with the linebackers. Longtime Penn State defensive coach and coordinator Tom Bradley joins the staff and will coach the defensive line. Joe DeForest, the special teams coordinator, who has years of coaching experience with safeties, will oversee that position this year. Brian Mitchell will continue to coach the cornerbacks. “Not much will change this season. We are a threedown front. You can do multiple things with that,” Holgorsen said.
Defensive Line
There is a two-deep of returning players at each position on the defensive line. “For D-line, we should have some pretty good battles for the three spots on the line,” Holgorsen said. “Kyle Rose has taken a leadership role and done a great job with that. Dontrill Hyman is really working hard. At nose, Christian Brown is doing great and we are looking forward to seeing those guys with pads on“. “They need to be pushed by Eric Kinsey and Noble Nwachukwu. With those guys, explosiveness is something that you want, consistency is what you need to see. Darrien Howard is finally getting an offseason, because he didn’t show up here until mid-August. Getting him an offseason is important. Brandon Jackson has been moved to nose tackle. He is big powerful kid so hopefully we can see him in pads.” At end Rose and Kinsey will battle. Rose played in 12 games last year and started six. He finished with 49 tackles, one sack, 8.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Kinsey saw action in 10 games and registered 15 tackles, a sack, three tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Battling at the other end will be Hyman and Nwachukwu. Hyman played in all 12 games and contributed 18 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Nwachukwu saw action in nine games and finished with five tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Brown and Howard will compete at nose tackle. Brown played in four games last year before a foot injury ended his season, and Howard saw action in four games. Freshman Davonte James, a heralded recruit from Ohio, enrolled in January and looks to add to the mix, along with Jackson, who was switched from the offensive line in the offseason.
Linebacker
This is the deepest position for the Mountaineer defense with 10 letterwinners returning, including four players with starting experience. “We have returning starters in Brandon Golson, Isaiah Bruce, Nick Kwiatkoski, Jared Barber, Wes Tonkery, Jewone Snow, Shaq Petteway,” Holgorsen said.
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“With defensive personnel, what stands out to me is the depth that we have at linebacker. We have a collection of guys who have played and also have young guys who you look at, and they are real players.” At Mike linebacker, Kwiatkoski returns as WVU’s leading tackler from last year. He finished with 86 tackles, including 54 solo stops, two sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Also looking to contribute are redshirt freshman Al-Rasheed Benton and Snow. Barber injured his knee against Texas last season and will sit out during the spring. At Sam linebacker, Bruce, a two-year starter, returns after posting 43 tackles a year ago, He had five tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Also trying to earn time will be mid-year enrollee Edward Muldrow and redshirt freshman Isaac McDonald. Tonkery sustained a season-ending hand injury at Baylor last year and will be out during the spring. Golson returns at one of the outside linebacker positions (WILL). He was one of the tops in the nation in forced fumbles (5), had two pass breakups and finished with 41 tackles. He was second on the team with four sacks and third in tackles for loss with seven. Adding to the mix are Hodari Christian, Petteway and Sean Walters. Christian is a redshirt freshman and Petteway returns after sustaining a preseason knee injury that kept him off the field the entire season. Walters played in 12 games last year. “Edward Muldrow is a long-armed guy and has attacked this offseason really well,” Holgorsen said. “Al-Rasheed Benton is a big guy who can fit in well. You have young guys like Hodari Christian and (Isaac) McDonald who provide a bunch of depth. We are three to four-deep at those spots so it’ll be interesting to see what we can do with a bunch of guys that have experience. We look forward to getting those guys out there and playing.” At the other outside position (SPUR), KJ Dillon, Marvin Gross, Malik Greaves and Dayron Wilson will be competing for time. Dillon is being moved after playing free safety last season. He finished with 28 tackles, including three tackles for loss, a team-leading six pass breakups and had a fumble recovery. Gross added depth at outside linebacker last year, seeing action in 11 games. He finished with 14 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
Secondary
Karl Joseph moves from free safety to bandit safety this spring. He is in his third year and has started all 25 games of his career. He is the second-leading returning tackler from last year, finishing with 68 tackles, including 56 solo stops, three tackles for loss, a team-leading four fumble recoveries, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception. Jarrod Harper played in all 12 games last season as a redshirt freshman and registered 10 tackles and a forced fumble.
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY