Competition rising in West Virginia linebacker room
The West Virginia linebacker room is one that experienced quite a bit of change from the spring to the fall.
The Mountaineers added several transfers to the mix, like Ben Bogle (Southern Illinois) and John Lewis (UNLV), while a number of freshmen are now enrolled or have developed, such as Michael Hastie and Cam Torbor.
The room also welcomed some new faces in the winter that have become more comfortable in the scheme, players like Chase Wilson (Colorado State) and Ashton Woods (North Carolina).
“I think we’ve got a lot of leaders that are starting to emerge,” coordinator Zac Alley said.
To point to that, Alley said that the second practice was much better than the first in terms of communicating and talking among themselves and the rest of the defense.
“You don’t get the check to the safety, that’s you. The D line’s lined up wrong, that’s your fault. Everything’s on us, and that’s the way that I want my guys to think,” Alley said.
Intelligence is a key aspect of playing the position and it doesn’t hurt that the Mountaineers have some really spirited competition among the various linebacker spots.
That helps to make the room better as a whole.
“They’re watching the other guys play well out there,” he said.
In terms of some of the transfer additions, Alley likes the fact that they bring athleticism to the table with the ability to run and move well at their size. They also bring valuable experience that the room simply needed.
“Experience is valuable, and just the ease of knowing how to show up on time, dress the right way, ready to go for practice. Just taking leadership roles, because that’s what they’re used to,” Alley said.
And while the battles at those spots won’t be determined anytime soon, it’s still a major plus that the Mountaineers have some players that have already experienced success and can help cultivate good habits across the board in the linebacker room.
“Just little things that experience gives you,” Alley said.
Offer Alert
Fall camp is here and there’s no better time to sign up with us to get all your WVU intel! Sign up today – $1 for the first week, plus a complimentary year of access to The Athletic included. Join – http://gowvu.us/Join
__________________________________________
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
•Like us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
