MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Today’s Gold & Blue Lunch Report focuses on the retooling of West Virginia’s defensive line (a.k.a. the land of opportunity.)
All three starting spots are wide-open entering preseason camp, leaving coordinator Tony Gibson and defensive line coach Bruce Tall to test, stress and shuffle through a few critical weeks of evaluation.
Is fifth-year senior Xavier Pegues ready to contribute at long last? Does he claim the nose tackle job over Jaleel Fields and Jalen Harvey? Or does true freshman Lamonte McDougle demand immediate playing time?
“Lamonte McDougle showed some good things, but we didn’t have pads on, so it’s hard to tell,” Gibson said. “But we like his explosiveness, strength, and he’s got some quickness. We like him a lot right now.”
Tall insists there’s no hesitancy to play a freshman, as he did with defensive end Reese Donahue last season. The 6-foot McDougle showed up at 303 pounds and was handed the No. 49 jersey, same as last year’s starter Darrien Howard.
Pegues is a converted defensive end who signed in 2015 out of Itawamba (Miss.) Community College. He redshirted before siting out last season with what Dana Holgorsen described as a shoulder injury. At 6-2 and 290, he shifted inside during the spring and looked promising.
Fields’ time at WVU has followed a similar trajectory: A developmental year followed by 2016’s torn ACL during preseason camp. He was expected to back up Howard last season.
The 6-2 Harvey is the heaviest contender at 318 pounds and has two years remaining after signing out of East Mississippi Community College.