Looking ahead to next year----DL

[DCWV4life]

Going into the 2014 season the D-Line was the 2nd biggest concern behind the QB position. The DL was thin due to lack of recruiting over several seasons. But they added Riddick just before the start of the season and somehow stayed healthy and had a decent rotation of:
· Rose/Howard at the NT
· Nwachukwu/Hyman/Brown at DE on running downs
· Gibson/Riddick at DE on passing downs.

With the loss of Riddick, Gibson, and Hyman the DL is losing 18.5 tackles for loss (66%) and 11 sacks (95%).

The 7 returning guys had a combined 9 TFL and ½ sack. So you can see the problem. Going into next season WVU is not returning the DL that can penetrate other than Nwachukwu.

Here is what they do have for next season.

NT:
1. Rose r-sr. 33 tackles and 1 TFL. Solid Big 12 NT. 37 career games
2. Howard jr. 5 tackles and 0.5 TFL. WVU has tried to redshirt him for the last 2 seasons but could not due to lack of depth. 11 career games.
3. Jackson r-sr. Played in 1 game. No stats. You have to wonder if DH will bring him back for a 5th season having only made 2 appearances in 4 seasons.

DE
4. Nwachukwu r-rj. 2014 was a breakout season for him. 12 starts. 31 tackles, 6.5 TFK, 0.5 sack, and 4 pass break ups. Solid Big 12 DE.
5. Brown r-jr. Disappointing 2014. 11 games with 1 start. He meets the eye test but just doesn’t produce. WVU has tried him at NT and both ends. 14 tackles, 0 TFL, 0 sacks. But around 25 career games.
6. Kinsey, sr. Disappointing 2014. 9 games, 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 0 sacks. Basically a veteran 3rd teamer with 32 career games.
7. Lewis, r-so. Walked on as a freshman from University High. May be on scholarship now. 7 games and 3 tackles.

WVU has several freshman redshirting this year. It’s hard to determine who may be on the DL next year as freshman sometimes get moved from OL to DL and vice versa their first season. But here is who is currently listed as a DL.
8. Tyree Owens. 6-3, 265. DE. WVU needs him to be ready to contribute as a pass rusher soon.
9. Yodny Cajuste. 6-5, 265. DE. Former basketball player and OT at Miramar. Very raw. Could end up a DE or OT.
10. Jaleel Fields. 6-1, 275. NT or run stopping DE. I liked the way he played on film in HS. Not flashy but he just pushes his man into the backfield and disrupts the running game. Not a huge frame so he may max out at about 285-290 pounds.

WVU is recruiting DL heavily and have 5 commits. 3 H.S. and 2 JUCO. None of them are highly recruited guys and I don’t see them replacing the production of Riddick, Golson, and Hyman.
· Robert Landers and Alec Shriner are NT types. Their motors are much better than athletic ability at this point. But both of them play low, hard, and frustrate offenses. Shriner has the larger frame to add weight.
· Adam Shuler is about 6-5, 250 and is a DE prospect. Reminded me a little of Will Clarke. Will probably get up into the 280-285 range with the ability to move.
· Larry Jefferson and Xavier Pegues are both DE from Itawamba Community College. Jefferson is 6-5, 230 and a pass rusher. I saw his film and it did not excite me. Doesn’t seem to be a quick twitch player. Pegues is listed at 6-3, 275. Probably and inch and 20 pounds less. Pegues holds the point of attack well and has some short area quickness and a hard tackler.



Long story short, WVU lost about 95% of its sack production and two-thirds of its TFL production. WVU returns only 2 guys who are solid Big 12 DL guys in Rose and Nwachukwu. WVU is going to have to find some production and depth from underachievers (Brown and Kinsey), redshirt freshman, or middle of the road JUCO prospects.

 

[Slaton10]

I'm not so concerned with the DL...they will plug players in...the only thing they need is a Chris Neild type NT that can get a push on the center...the other two players just need to be strong enough to take up blockers....what they need and didn't have by a mile this year where athletic and fast LB's...love Tonkery's and Kwiatkoski's effort.side to side and filling holes ..but they had not ability to rush the passer.and instead had to bring presser off the corner's waaay to much..

 

[Anotherwvufan]

I am concerned with the D line. Whoever gets plugged in will be facing very talented offensive lines, especially against Oklahoma and Texas. Rose did a good job of holding the Nose and with Howard, that spot is solid. Noble has filled in well on one side, but we need someone who has the speed to rush the passer.

If we had Bruce Irvin coming back, I would not be worried. We need to be able to get the the QB without blitzing at least every now and then. We are one player away from having a good DL.. Hopefully one of the guys steps up.

 

[bbwvfan]

Personally, I am not as worried about next year's DL as I was about the DL heading into this year. None of the kids who are graduating were all-stars. So, I don't think it will be a major loss.

Gibson and Bradley will have to find ways to get pressure on the QB. That was a key area of concern for me this year, and will obviously remain one for next year too.

 

[DrPhil58]

I agree with everyones assessment to a certain point. If we don't have a Chris Neild type player then we need Linebackers that can fill the holes and get to the QB. When we blitz with our corners or safeties we lose coverage in the secondary. I know this link is all about DL, but I'm more concerned with the LB's. Muldrow did an OK job this year, but did not get to the QB enough. I noticed only one comittment from one LB this year, but what about the other RS LB's from last year will they be able to help out? Just wondering!