West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia Team Report

Updated: April 25, 2012 09:43 EST

When you are coming off a 70-point outburst against Clemson in the Orange Bowl and have nine returning starters on offense, your spring focus clearly would switch to defense.

So it was at West Virginia, where the Mountaineers had completely redone their defensive staff to bring in a different defense, a 3-4 to replace the 3-3-5 stack they had run.

The idea was to fit better into the Big 12 against its spread offenses, the defense being easier to disguise things in and get more attacking through blitzes than the Mountaineers had before.

The results were solid with the defense holding its own in the final week of camp and having an impressive spring game in which it forced four turnovers, three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

"You got to have guys break on the ball and make a play on the ball in the air, which was good to see," said West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen.

Perhaps the one negative of the spring was that starting running back Dustin Garrison, who recorded a 291-yard rushing game as a true freahman last year against Bowling Green, was out with a knee injury that kept him out of the Orange Bowl.

Other than that, the offense actually has more potential than a year ago with a second season in it and with more depth at wide receiver and quarterback Geno Sith back to make a Heisman Trophy bid.

That the offense didn't dominate was not a concern of Holgorsen's.

"We're playing with a whole bunch of people who won't be playing in games," Holgorsen said. "The guys in there? If we're playing with them in the fall, we're not going to win."

Considering that he still has Smith and 1,000-yard receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey back, the fireworks that began last year should continue.

--Winners of the Iron Mountaineer Awards out of the spring were OG Jeff Braun, DE Will Clarke, WR Ryan Nehlen and LB Taigre Redman.

--Winner of the Tom Nickolich Award as the top walk-on was Tyler Anderson, who is listed atop the depth chart at defensive play.

SPRING MOVERS:

--QB Paul Millard was expected to have to battle to keep his backup quarterback job but had a solid spring and strong spring game with 26 completions in 35 tries for 253 yards and a touchdown, but he did throw two picks. With his competition, true freshman Ford Childress arrested for DUI just before the spring game, Millard wound up clearly the backup.

--DE Tyler Anderson, a walk-on, showed himself perfectly cast athletically for the new defense and won a starting job. He is a bit undersized but has an engine that just keeps going.

--WR Jordan Thompson is small enough that they call him "Squirt" but he is elusive and sure-handed, leading Coach Dana Holgorsen to say "you can't tackle what you can't touch" when Thompson's lack of size was brought up. Holgorsen is sure to find ways to use him as a weapon.

--CB Matt Moro made his presence felt in the spring game with an interception of QB Gene Smith. Given a chance to play via Pat Miller's injury, this senior who went the junior college route after having played only one year in high school in Miami will play in the third-down packages.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "To sum it up, we're about 33 percent into how we're going to look before we play our first game. Our depth is not very good right now, but that will change after we're able to evaluate everyone. From where we're at, we've got a long ways to go." -- Coach Dana Holgorsen after the spring game.

2012 OUTLOOK: Spirits are soaring at West Virginia as it enters a new season, armed with most of the offensive weapons that put 70 points on Clemson in the Orange Bowl, breaking the record for most points scored in a bowl game.

Add to that the excitement of moving from the Big East to the Big 12, and you have a team that is riding high.

Coach Dana Holgorsen's offense revolves around quarterback Geno Smith, who could well insert himself into Heisman Trophy contention in his senior year.

Smith is coming off a season in which he set West Virginia passing records with 4,385 yards and 31 touchdowns.

He has his two top receivers back, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, each a 1,000-yard receiver, and also has his leading rusher, Dustin Garrison, returning, though Garrison is coming off knee surgery.

The offense will operate behind a reworked line that gets back one of its leaders, Josh Jenkins, who missed last season with a knee injury.

The test will be on the defensive side of the ball, where there is a new scheme and new staff that will change the philosophy for the move to the pass-happy Big 12.

A large personnel changeover will take place, and it is necessary to fill gaps left by the graduation of pass rushers Julian Miller and Bruce Irvin and the leadership and versatility of linebacker Najee Goode.

DE Will Clarke while provide a pass rush while LB Isaiah Bruce seemed to be the kind of hard-hiting linebacker who can replace Najee Goode.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: The offense didn't particularly have a great spring but Coach Dana Holgorsen was being very vanilla with it and it should be better than a year ago when it scored 70 points on Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

A stronger, wiser Geno Smith is back as a Heisman Trophy candidate and he has a deep group of receivers to throw to including SR Tavon Austin and WR Stedman Bailey, each a 1,000-yard receiver last year, while freshman Jordan Thompson, just 5-7 and 156 pounds out of Katy, Tex., looked like a miniature Austin and led in receptions in the spring game.

The running game was on hold in the spring, although RB Shawne Alston showed himself to be capable of being an every down back while starter Dustin Garrison heals from a knee injury. Sophomore Andrew Buie showed a lot of improvement throughout the spring and will get a lot of playing time.

The most improved part of the offense will be the offensive line as senior LG Josh Jenkins returns after missing last year with a knee injury suffered in the spring game. Jumbo Quinton Spain, a 335-pounder, moves in at offensive tackle while G Jeff Braun showed great improvement in the spring. The line revolves around the play of C Joey Madsen, who could be in line for much post-season recognition.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: WVU revamped its entire defense, beginning with the coaching staff, and spring was spent putting in an attacking 3-4 defense after a decade of 3-3-5 stack that former coordinator Jeff Casteel.

The defense came on strongly in the final week of the spring and actually outperformed the offense in the spring game despite missing a number of starting players for the game. DE Will Clarke looks like a monster at that spot and actually intercepted a pass in the spring game. Freshman Karl Joseph showed he can play right now while redshirt LB Isaiah Bruce got a number of hard hits in the spring game while leading in tackles.

SCOUTING THE SPECIAL TEAMS: WVU is blessed with great returners, head by All-American candidate Tavon Austin, who is a danger to take a punt or kickoff back all the way at any time. Freshman WR Jordan Thompson also looks like a dangerous return man. Corey Smith won the punting jump but is being challenged by Mike Molinari. Both punted last year for the Mountaineers. Tyler Betancurt, who has won three games with field goals in his career, is back for his final season as placekicker.

TOP NEWCOMERS:

--WR Jordan Thompson is a miniature slot receiver at 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds, but coach Dana Holgorsen says, "You can't tackle what you can't touch." Thompson is swift and elusive with the football in his grasp. He enrolled in the spring and went through spring ball becoming the leading receiver in the spring game with eight catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. Out of the storied Katy, Texas, program outside Houston, he finished 2011 with 66 receptions for 1,117 yards, which is an average of 17.8 yards a catch. He scored a touchdown in every game but one.

--CB Brandon Napoleon is the son of former Mountaineer Eugene Napoleon from the undefeated 1988 team. He attended St. Peter's Prep in New Jersey, where he played running back, quarterback and defensive back. He had enough potential be the No. 17 quarterback on Tom Lemming's list and to have courted offers from Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina and Rutgers.

--LB Karl Joseph put himself into contention to win a starting job in camp with an impressing spring and strong performance in the spring game. He is a hard-hitter out of Orlando, Fla.

ROSTER REPORT

--WVU freshman quarterback Ford Childress, an early enrollee out of Houston, Tex., was arrested and charged with DUI two nights before the spring game. He did not dress for the game.

--WVU was without starting RB Dustin Garrison all spring due to recovery from knee surgery that kept him out of the Orange Bowl. He is expected back for summer drills.

--Starting CB Pat Miller missed much of the spring with a broken bone in his foot. He is one of just two CBs with experience.

--Starting S Terence Garvin missed the entire spring with a shoulder injury. He is expected back for the regular season.

--Senior FB Matt Lindamood, who has been bothered by a persistent neck problem since the middle of last season, left the team. Lindamood was used mostly for blocking on the goal line and as an up back on the punt team last season. He did not carry the ball or catch a pass last year.