MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As West Virginia’s defense struggled throughout non-conference play, the Mountaineers looked to simplify matters, particularly following a late letdown that led to a 38-34 loss at Pitt and 1-2 record ahead of Big 12 play.
There was also change off the field, with defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley moving from the sideline to coaches box ahead of the Mountaineers’ Big 12 opener against Kansas on September 21.
The Mountaineers have allowed 42 points over their first two league games, and put forth what was easily their best defensive showing of the season last Saturday in a dominant 38-14 victory at Oklahoma State.
“It changes what the look is and how you approach each play. You see more of the big picture of things and you’re able to probably get your kids in some better positions than you normally would,” Lesley said. “It kind of slows down. There’s a lot of things that go on when you’re on the sideline. A lot of moving pieces where you’re two or three plays ahead whether it’s defense to special teams or offense to special teams. It kind of calms things down.”
Lesley says he brought the idea up to head coach Neal Brown, and he’d considered doing it last season. However, to open the 2024 campaign, West Virginia’s fourth-year defensive coordinator remained on the sideline, where he had always previously been during his Mountaineer tenure. That was while trying to acclimate to new rule changes within college football that allow for coach-to-player communication through the helmet to one player on the field until whichever comes first between 15 seconds remaining on the play clock or the ball being snapped.
There was also an adjustment to iPad technology permitted for the first season.
“The only reason I stayed down starting the year was trying to get a feel for the changes we have in college football with the green dot and iPad,” Lesley said. “I was trying to get a beat on operational things. What made the ultimate decision for me was there really wasn’t a big difference. I really thought about going to the box last year. Now that I’m there, I’ll never go back.”
Lesley felt he’d get a better feel for the changes by being nearby the players he’s responsible coaching. Perhaps that was the case, but it wasn’t yielding results to suggest the defense was better off as it struggled mightily defending the pass, allowing 842 yards and eight touchdowns on 51 completions through the air without an interception over three games. In two Big 12 battles since, WVU has three interceptions and limited both the Jayhawks and Cowboys to fewer than 200 passing yards.
“With the changes, there were a lot of unknowns with how that was going to work. One of the things I probably underestimated, particularly at home games, the crowd noise through the mic,” Lesley said. “It’s another thing that can be a distraction. I thought if we could eliminate that, that can be one more things that helps. But it was a thing I wanted to do and I brought up. I thought it would help everybody as we get into conference play.”
To start the strong performance last Saturday, the Mountaineers forced Oklahoma State to punt on consecutive possessions. When the Cowboys got the ball back trailing 17-0, safety Jaheem Joseph read quarterback Alan Bowman for what was WVU’s second interception of the season at that point.
Lesley was far from the action, and plans to stay that way, which Brown sees as a benefit for what he can provide.
“It’s helped. It’s been good for him because you can see better there. Any time you’re up high, you can definitely see better than you can on the field,” Brown said. “It takes the emotions out of the game because you’re so far away. It’s much calmer, more peaceful and you can do some more thinking and be more organized between series, because you’re sitting at a table. There’s some benefit to that.”
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Wideout Justin Robinson missed his second straight game and has yet to log a snap in Big 12 play following his 28-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter at Pitt.
That could change Saturday when the Mountaineers welcome No. 11 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0) for an 8 p.m. matchup to see which team can stay atop the conference.
“Justin Robinson was close last week. He practiced today and I think he’ll be back,” Brown said. “The rest of the guys that got injured in the game, I’ll know more probably through Wednesday. I don’t know if all of them will practice until Wednesday, but I’m hopeful. There’s nobody that’s definitely out right now.”