West Virginia football: 5 surprise contributors who’ll boost Mountaineers in 2018
By Phil Poling
5. Deamonte Lindsay, Safety | Redshirt Junior
West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson deploys an unusual 3-3-5 base defense, fielding three defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. It works for the Mountaineers in a pass-happy league like the Big 12, but most teams prefer a more stacked front-seven.
Being flexible on the back-end is the goal, though, and the Mountaineers continue to achieve that. The three starting safeties for Gibson – Dravon Askew-Henry, Toyous Avery, Jr., and Kenny Robinson — have a combined 53 starts at WVU. Askew-Henry, the most-experienced of the bunch, is the starter at the spur safety position; redshirt-junior Deamonte Lindsay is his projected backup.
Lindsay, a Martinsburg, W.Va. native, played in six games last season for the Mountaineers. He mostly played on special teams, but Lindsay was named the WVU Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
The 6-foot-1 junior will continue to add depth on defense and special teams, but Lindsay could become a WVU fan-favorite if he excels in his opportunity. Mountaineer fans always love student-athletes who bide their time and grind out a role, but hailing from the Mountain State makes it that much more special if Lindsay can play at a high level.