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West Virginia Football: 2017 season preview and predictions

By Connor Muldowney

MORGANTOWN, WV - DECEMBER 03: Head Coach Dana Holgorsen of the West Virginia Mountaineers looks on before the game against the Baylor Bears at Mountaineer Field on December 3, 2016 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - DECEMBER 03: Head Coach Dana Holgorsen of the West Virginia Mountaineers looks on before the game against the Baylor Bears at Mountaineer Field on December 3, 2016 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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AMES, IA – NOVEMBER 26: Running back David Montgomery #32 of the Iowa State Cyclones rushes for yards as linebacker David Long #11 of the West Virginia Mountaineers pursues in the second half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Ames, Iowa. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 49-19 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA – NOVEMBER 26: Running back David Montgomery #32 of the Iowa State Cyclones rushes for yards as linebacker David Long #11 of the West Virginia Mountaineers pursues in the second half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Ames, Iowa. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 49-19 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

Defense

If there’s one problem on the defensive side of the ball, outside of the secondary that struggled mightily in 2016, is the defensive line. The unit is extremely inexperienced and returns just a couple of guys who even have experience at the collegiate level.

In fact, expected starting nose tackle Xavier Pegues, a senior, had just one total tackle last season and sophomore projected defensive end starters Reese Donahue and Adam Shuler combined for 46 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack last year. The latter could be a star as he had 34 tackles of his own.

As for the linebackers, sophomore David Long is an absolute stud. The outside linebacker was sixth on the team in tackles, 63, as a freshman and had 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as well. Senior Al-Rasheed Benton also returns at middle linebacker. He was second on the team in total tackles last season with 80.

Senior Xavier Preston has all the talent in the world but couldn’t seem to grasp the playbook in 2016, but he will be the other projected outside linebacker. This unit is as talented as any in the conference.

Can the secondary rebound from horrid 2016?

If you said West Virginia’s secondary had a rough 2016 season, I’d call you a liar because that’s an extreme understatement. The season was more of a nightmare than anything for the Mountaineers’ defensive backfield as it ranked 104th in the country in passing yards allowed per game (257.7).

Fortunately, Dravon Askew-Henry is back from an ACL injury that he suffered in 2016 and is expected to have a major impact on the unit. He’s been raved about and he’s a potential All-Big 12 safety. Elijah Battle started a few games last season at corner and he’s going to be battling it out with Syracuse grad transfer Corey Winfield — he started two years with the Orange.

Moreover, Hakeem Bailey had a strong spring at cornerback and could be a start in the making for the Mountaineers.

Kyzir White, another brother of former Mountaineer and current Chicago Bear Kevin White, will be back playing the Spur position and that will surely help both the defensive backfield and linebackers, taking some pressure off both.

All-in-all, this unit is gaining some experience and it should learn from a horrid 2016 season, likely improving in every metric.

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