West Virginia football: Way-too-early 2-deep depth chart projection for 2019
By Phil Poling
Linebacker
Starting Mike: Dylan Tonkery
Reserve Mike: Shea Campbell
Even though they lost the Big 12 DPOY, the Mountaineers do return a few experienced linebackers. Junior Dylan Tonkery was forced into action last season following a bevy of injuries at the position; he managed five starts before missing time himself. The Bridgeport native will likely be backed up by Morgantown’s own Shea Campbell, another player who started at least five games at the inside linebacker position a season ago. Both Tonkery and Campbell are listed at 6-foot and around 230 pounds.
Starting Bandit: Exree Loe
Reserve Bandit: Brendan Ferns
The Bandit linebacker sounds like a unique or complex position, but it’s essentially an edge defender who rushes the passer. It can be a challenge for new players in the role, though, as Hunter Reese experienced while playing it at Troy under Koenning.
Sophomore Exree Loe is a prime candidate for the Bandit position. He’s similar in size (6-foot, 218 pounds) to Reese (6-foot-1, 225 pounds), who tallied 14 sacks and 30.5 tackles-for-loss during his Trojan career. Loe’s also been a high-quality special teams player, somewhat mirroring Reese’s walk-on story. Brendan Ferns, battling back from injury yet again, is also in play at Bandit linebacker. At 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds, Ferns is more physically imposing than Loe. It all comes down to health with the junior from St. Clairsville, Ohio, though.
Starting Will: Kwantel Raines
Reserve Will: Deamonte Lindsay
From everything head coach Neal Brown and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning have said since arriving in Morgantown, the Will and Spear positions play like hybrid outside linebackers with the players at the position being inbetweeners. Brown listed a handful of guys who could see reps at the position, including sophomore Kwantel Raines and senior Deamonte Lindsay.
Both Raines and Lindsay were listed as safeties in 2018, but versatility is a plus — maybe even a must — in today’s game. And Koenning’s system coupled with the wide-openness of the Big 12 requires athletes who can both defend the pass and stop the run, and that’s a huge responsibility of the Will and Spear.
While Kenny Robinson appears to be the established star on the WVU defense, Raines oozes potential and could become the Robin to Robinson’s Batman. Not since Will Grier’s redshirt year have I been this excited to see a Mountaineer take the field; Raines has star potential.
Starting Spear (Nickel): JoVanni Stewart
Reserve Spear: Josh Chandler
The Spear position more-closely mirrors the secondary, but we’ll include it with our linebackers projection after Neal Brown talked about the position as part of the linebackers. They’re basically a nickelback, though, or more simply a corner who lines up in the slot instead of on the boundary. Senior JoVanni Stewart is going to become a household name in this role.
In 11 starts last season, Stewart tied for fourth on the team in tackles. He also racked up four sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, good for second on the Mountaineers. Sophomore Josh Chandler is another option at Spear for the Mountaineers. He added depth on special teams a season ago.