Plans to Limit Joseph's Wear and Tear

[bbwvfan]

Charleston Daily Mail | Chuck McGill: WVU smart to let Joseph play his style, but limit wear and tear

Of interest to me…

The numbers back that up. Last season, Joseph played 903 of 920 possible plays on defense — 98.1 percent. Add in 136 special teams plays, and Joseph was on the field for 1,039 plays in 2013.

“I don’t want to hold anybody back. We never want to play and say that’s OK you loafed on that play because we know you didn’t want to get hurt. The hell with that. You go 100 percent effort all the time and we’ll figure it out.”

That’s the task for WVU coaches with Alabama looming in eight days. DeForest raved about 6-0, 210-pound sophomore Jarrod Harper, who will be Joseph’s backup at the bandit position. Harper primarily played on special teams last season, but has impressed the coaching staff this month.

“I feel more confident in Jarrod Harper than any kid I’ve ever had as a backup in my entire career,” DeForest said. “If anything happened to Karl — God forbid, knock on wood — Jarrod Harper would not skip a beat. Jarrod Harper has made that big of a jump.

“You always talk about what’s the drop-off from a one to a two, well, Jarrod’s made it not that big of a drop-off.”

The second quote is important to note. It goes to the topic discussed yesterday. WVU is finally developing quality depth. This has not been the case the past few years…