MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the West Virginia Mountaineers make their Christmas Day arrival in the Mid-South, the upcoming Liberty Bowl offers as much about the start of 2015 as an end to 2014.
Especially on the defensive side, where coordinator Tony Gibson has a substantial new contract to match a substantial group of returning starters. Save for two departing seniors—defensive end Shaq Riddick and outside linebacker Wes Tonkery—the Mountaineers defense that regained respect this fall should remain intact next season.
Gibson said he expects safety Karl Joseph to return to school, giving West Virginia at least five seniors in the 2015 starting lineup.
“We’re not done by any means,” Gibson said. “This has to be a springboard into spring football for us. We’ve got to go out and perform on defense because the expectations are there now. We can’t ever go back to what we were.”
Defensive continuity has been an oxymoron at West Virginia the previous three seasons, thanks to the perpetual shuffling of coordinators who tried and failed to tap on a reliable combination of players. Now Gibson is giddy about what his experienced unit can accomplish during a repeat season in the 3-3-5.
When WVU coaches and players began installing the stack defense in camp last August, they had to rely on film study from 2010, 2011 and 2007.
“The players haven’t seen themselves playing in this system and correcting mistakes,” Gibson said. “Now we’ve got a whole year of cut-ups to study now and something to teach off of.”
Some of those clips were in heavy rotation during bowl preparations for Texas A&M (7-5), a game that could be transformative with regard to the offseason mindset.
“Our whole motto was about finishing, so I want to win this game,” Gibson said. “We need to win this game.”
Gibson expects Joseph back: After making 256 tackles—including a stream of highlight hits—and forcing six fumbles in three seasons, Joseph submitted his paperwork for NFL draft evaluation. That’s something common among juniors on the fence about leaving school early.
Though draftnik Mel Kiper lists Joseph among his top-five non-senior safeties, he’s the smallest of the top prospects at only 5-foot-10.
“Karl’s realistic with everything,” Gibson said. “He understands that if he’s going to be a first, second, or third-round guy he’s probably got to go. And if he’s not, then you need to stay.
“We’ve had discussions and don’t foresee him doing anything. I foresee him being back here and doing what he does.”
New defensive ends: Along with losing Riddick (seven sacks), WVU also is preparing to replace seniors Dontrill Hyman and Brandon Golson at defensive end. That paves the way for incoming junior college recruits Larry Jefferson and Xavier Pegues to make an impact.
“We need guys to step up at that position,” Gibson said, “and we feel like we filled that void and we’re going to get some guys in here who can compete right away.”
Barber back in pads: Junior linebacker Jared Barber, currently completing a medical redshirt season following ACL surgery, has returned to practice during bowl preparations.
“He has looked really good,” Gibson said. “He snapped a couple of those young guys’ heads in the first tackling drill we did. He was so anxious to get back out there.”
