MORGANTOWN — The thought of replacing all five starters in a secondary would have most college football defensive coordinators shaking in their boots, but WVU’s Jordan Lesley hasn’t wavered on his belief that the remaining group won’t be the team’s weakness.
Outside of Charles Woods, who came on strong toward the end of last year in a fill-in role at cornerback, the defensive backfield is depleted, thanks in large part to the transfer portal. Corners Nicktroy Fortune, Daryl Porter and Jackie Matthews have new homes, while the safety trio of Sean Mahone, Alonzo Addae and Scottie Young exhausted their eligibility.
But it was the transfer portal that also helped ease the transition into this season. Despite the lack of production at WVU, a few corners are no stranger to college football. Rashad Ajayi started 35 games the last four seasons at Colorado State, using his final year to play at the Power 5 level. The same can be said for Wesley McCormick, who came to West Virginia from James Madison, after starting 21 games for the Dukes since 2017.
At safety, Marcis Floyd comes in after starting 28 games at cornerback over three years at Murray State. Jasir Cox will be in the mix at Spear after winning two FCS national championships and starting 24 games at North Dakota State in three years, though he played primarily at linebacker.
“They have a lot of experience in some places we’ve needed it,” Lesley said.
“Experience is one thing, but what you’re accustomed to, culture wise, is another thing, and that definitely plays into it. Most of your FCS guys are making the move for a reason and usually that’s to prove something in the twilight of their college careers and how they can compete against a higher level of competition.”
With the players who have been through the grind before, Lesley believes it benefits them, because the game is a lot slower compared to a high school newcomer or a junior college transfer.
“You cannot substitute experience, whether it’s FBS or FCS,” Lesley said. “If you have a high school kid with the same height, same weight, same speed, he does not have that to lean on. Everything is moving so fast for him because now everyone is at the same talent level. His learning curve is a little sharper than the guy with experience.”
Head coach Neal Brown, along with Lesley, reiterated that even with the losses and attrition on the back end of the defense, the players brought in fit the mold more physically than what left the program — long and athletic.
“They have a lot of athleticism and speed, and a lot of football has been played between those guys,” Lesley said.
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