MORGANTOWN — If there was one spot where West Virginia could not afford an injury this season it was at defensive back.
The Mountaineers’ secondary was going to be new this season with transfers and youngsters alike. The lone veteran was fifth-year senior Charles Woods and, as luck would have it, he went down with an ankle injury in week one against Pitt and missed five games.
Woods returned to limited action against Texas Tech and was back full-time on Saturday versus TCU.
While one player cannot fix a defense that’s allowing more than 500 yards of offense in conference games, the leadership and confidence of a veteran can certainly have an impact.
“I’m just trying to find a way to go out there and help my team win,” Woods said after Saturday’s game. “I still feel the same as day one back in January. This is a great defense, I just think we left some plays out there. Overall, I still think this is a good defense.”
A lot of players have seen time in the secondary in Woods’ absence, and while youngsters like Andrew Wilson-Lamp, Jacolby Spells and Mumu Bin-Wahad have flashed at times, it has overall not been pretty.
“I really just think it comes down to the guys that are in the room,” Woods said. “That comes as far back as the spring, summer and fall, if you’re not a one (on the depth chart), you’re a two or a three, getting you to where if your opportunity comes, you can go out there and play at a high level.”
Despite Saturday’s outcome, WVU’s defense did play much better in the second half against the Horned Frogs. After allowing four touchdowns in the first half, including a backbreaker just ahead of the break, the Mountaineers functionally only gave up two field goals after halftime. A 29-yard fourth-down touchdown by TCU in the waning moments made the score and overall numbers look worse, but ultimately had little bearing on the outcome.
“I think guys just played harder,” Woods said of the second-half improvement. “Guys went out there and competed, that’s all it comes down to. You’ve got Xs and Os, techniques and all that, but I think at the end of the day it comes down to winning your one-on-one matchup.”
After giving up 332 yards in the first half, the defense rebounded to only allow 162 in the second.
“I tell the guys that when a big play does happen, move on,” Woods explained. “We can’t be putting our heads down feeling sorry for ourselves, we’ve got to move on to the next play and keep playing until there are zeroes on the clock.”
WVU also had a couple of takeaways after halftime, both by redshirt-junior Malachi Ruffin, including the first interception of his career.
It was not all good to Ruffin, though, as he was the player who TCU receiver Savion Williams jumped over to catch TCU’s final touchdown with 20 seconds left in the game. As the leader of the group, however, Woods was not going to let one bad play outshine Ruffin’s contributions.
“I’m proud of him, very proud of Ruff,” Woods said. “I told him after the game I’m proud of him. That’s a play where a guy just went up and got it.”
If WVU’s defense is to improve down the stretch and help the offense win any of its final four games, Woods’ leadership in the secondary may go a long way toward accomplishing that.
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