MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In the sweet afterglow of holding TCU to 148 passing yards and its lowest scoring output in three years, West Virginia’s secondary reported for film study Sunday afternoon.
What video clip did cornerbacks coach Blue Adams choose to lead the session?
The one of TCU’s only touchdown, a perfectly placed back-shoulder throw from Kenny Hill to Jaelan Austin that beat cornerback Rasul Douglas in the corner of the end zone.
So much for the afterglow.
“Yeah, Rasul’s upset about that one,” Adams said. “He should’ve gotten that one out, yes sir.”
On a pass that appeared unstoppable despite Douglas’ tight man coverage. Adams noticed a momentary technique glitch after the snap. The coach thought Douglas “relaxed early in the down and tried to speed it up late,” leaving him slightly exposed once the receiver turned back for the ball.
Douglas even heard about it from his roommate, Iowa transfer Maurice Fleming, who watched the play on TV from the weight room while serving a first-half penalty because of the previous week’s targeting ejection.
“Technique, man, that was it,” Fleming said. “Rasul could’ve had another interception.”
Douglas delivered the defensive play of the day to stop TCU’s opening series, pouncing on a slant route to intercept Hill. Though Douglas ran back his team-leading third interception 30 yards across midfield, Adams ribbed him for not capitalizing on a pick-six.
That has been Adams’ method since joining West Virginia in March, a coach with five years on the Miami Dolphins staff but only one season as a full-time college assistant at Northern Iowa. Head coach Dana Holgorsen and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson — pressed to hire a replacement after Brian Mitchell left for Virginia Tech days before spring drills — initially focused on Lovie Smith’s son Mychal and two additional candidates.
When the first round of interviews dried up, they turned to Adams. Seven months and six straight wins later, No. 10 West Virginia stands 12th nationally in pass-efficiency defense and 15th in points allowed, success directly attributable to the stunning rise of its rebuilt cornerback rotation.
“I think there’s one explanation: Those guys are getting coached hard,” Holgorsen said. “The reason we hired Blue is because he’s a master technician, so he’s hard on his guys, he’s demanding.”
West Virginia stands 12th nationally in pass-efficiency defense and 15th in points allowed, success attributable to the stunning rise of its rebuilt cornerback rotation.
Along with his two quarters spent in targeting exile, Fleming was slowed by an ankle injury. Antonio Crawford missed the Kansas State win with a shoulder injury. Junior college transfer Elijah Battle struggled during preseason camp and then “came out of nowhere” — Holgorsen’s description — to start the most recent two games.
No cornerback has made every start, though Douglas leads the group with five.
“It’s a no-name secondary,” Gibson said. “You don’t know who any of those guys are.“
He didn’t know whether to trust his cornerbacks as recently as the BYU game on Sept. 24. Despite winning 35-32, West Virginia yielded 521 yards in a flurry of missed tackles. Yet Douglas swiped a pick-six, safety Jeremy Tyler scooped a pass that slipped through the hands of an open receiver, and Fleming squashed a last-minute threat by intercepting a ball cornerback Nana Kyeremeh deflected.
“At corner we had no idea what we were going to do this season,” Gibson admitted. “But starting with the K-State game, those guys have played well.”
After Daryl Worley became a third-round choice of the Panthers, Douglas stands out as West Virginia’s next NFL-caliber corner. At 6-foot-2 with a lengthy wingspan, he exudes tons more confidence than he did as a juco newcomer last season.
“He has realized what mom and dad gave him — which is his body, his length, his height, his speed,” Adams said. “I think he has been awakened to what his assets are. Just understanding how good he can be and what he has to work with.”
“We’ve got to work even harder. We’ve got a target on our back now.”
Fleming noticed Douglas’ physical gifts the first time they met this summer, and promptly went about dropping 15 pounds himself — weight he had added while trying to beef up into a safety at Iowa.
“Coach Blue said ‘We need you to get down to 200,’ so I started running more,” Fleming said. “I’m still eating good but now I’m in shape, more cut up and feeling better.”
The running hasn’t subsided, not with Adams insisting on energy.
“He makes us go non-stop — always telling us not to save heartbeats — so we go hard all the time,” Fleming said. “But we’ve got to work even harder. We’ve got a target on our back now.”