MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Neil Brown is the first to admit that West Virginia University football hasn't been as successful recruiting linebackers as other positions since he took over in Morgantown.
“We’ve reached it,” Brown said. “And it didn't work out.”
Simply put, it's been a while since a thumper like Daryl Talley donned the old gold and blue.
Grant Wiley (2000-03) and David Long (2016-18), who played in the pre-Neil Brown era, are the only WVU players since 2000 to earn All-American selections from multiple outlets in a season. He is a linebacker. Nick Kwiatkoski was nominated by Pro Football Focus in 2015 and Tony Fields was selected as a Reese's Senior Bowl All-American in 2020. Both unfortunately missed out on that spot.
Quarterback and tight end are the only two positions in this millennium where WVU hasn't received much national recognition. Pat McAfee (2005-08) and Josh Lambert (2012-15) have also earned multiple honors in a season over the past 25 years, and WVU's kicker and punter are the Mountaineers' favorites, at least from an All-American standpoint. He's as skilled as a linebacker. , since the end of the Don Nehlen era.
“We haven't been at full strength there for a long time, and I think that's a byproduct of a few things,” Brown said. “It’s hard to recruit linebackers right now because of the way the game is. [are] So [many] There's a lot more people in the universe and it's hard to judge them in high school, so you have to project a little bit. ”
WVU lost depth in Jeff Koontz's inside linebacker room last season due to injuries. Three-star freshman Josiah Trotter suffered a lower leg injury last spring and is out for the season, and redshirt freshman Trey Lathan also broke his foot during a TCU game and will miss the remainder of the season.
Still, the Mountaineers allowed just 4.3 yards per carry, which was the fifth-best average among Big 12 defenses last fall.
“Get [Josiah] trotter bag and tray [Lathan] Defensive coordinator Jordan Leslie said.
Multiple WVU coaches have hinted that Trotter's father, Jeremiah, a two-time All-Pro linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles, could have been a first-year starter last fall if not for the injury. . Tight end Treylan Davis recently said he would be “an absolute headache for the offense.”
“He loves the game,” Davis said. “He's Stinking It, He Loves It: Movies, Coach Mike [Joseph] In the weight room, everything. He takes it all day by day. He plays with grit. He plays fast. His read keys are fast. he's there he knows what's going on. He's very wary of such a young man. ”
Straight from the mouth of a 6-foot-2, 238-pound redshirt freshman and a man who has to wear a mask every day at practice.
Freshman Ben Cutter became WVU's de facto starting linebacker after Lathan's injury and recorded the fourth-most tackles (56) on the team last fall. Cutter also recorded six tackles for loss, including two sacks. When Jailo Fabels went down before the bowl game, Cutter's first-year opponent, Kayden Visser, started at the Dukes-Mayo Bowl. He recorded 23 tackles and half a sack over the season.
Lee Kpogba, WVU's top tackler last season, is gone, but Lathan, Cutter and Visor all have starting experience and are expected to return for the 2024 season. Fabels will also miss all of spring ball as he continues his recovery, but once he recovers he will be another piece of the rotation.
Throw in Reid Carrico, a transfer from Ohio State, and Trotter, and the position group is starting to take shape, perhaps for the first time under Brown and Leslie's watch.
“Right now we have five guys that can really help us,” Brown said. “We have a few more coming up, which will be beneficial. This definitely puts us in the best position we've ever been in.”
Approximately 3-5 yards in front of the inside linebackers and outside linebackers, the WVU pass rushers are under new leadership, with Victor Cabral now leading the position group. The WVU defense led the Big 12 in sacks last season, but the Mountaineer outside linebackers, whom Coach Cabral calls “edge rushers, run stoppers, and pass droppers,” accounted for seven of the team's 33 sacks. It only occupies times.
“I think pass rush is about patience,” Cabral said. “I think they need to understand that simple is better, and we need to give it more reps. We have a great offense that we can play against on a regular basis. There’s a line.”
Tyrin Bradley, who had 2.5 of those seven sacks, once again leads the group, while Gardner-Webb transfer Ty French and freshman Obinna Onwuka have received much praise this spring.
Elijah Kinsler, along with Onwuka, is on a list of early admission freshman edge rushers already on campus for spring ball, which will be joined in the fall by three-star Edge Makai Byerson. . At inside linebacker, West Virginia's No. 3 recruit and future Cabell Midland graduate Curtis Jones will also provide depth at inside linebacker this fall.
“It looks a lot better,” Brown said. “I think we are one class. [away] — as this class comes in — and our numbers will be there. ”
