MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The last 10 years saw several major changes to the West Virginia defense, moving from the Big East to facing the high-powered offenses of the Big 12.
The Mountaineers had five different defensive coordinators last decade, but primarily played a 3-3-5 stack look with the exception of three seasons. But there’s still a lot of star power on the defensive side — several moving on to have successful careers in the NFL.
Beginning with Jeff Casteel, ending with Vic Koenning and sandwiched by a solid run by Tony Gibson, here are a few of the best players to take the field for the WVU defense since 2010:
Defensive end: Bruce Irvin (2010-11)
One of the most productive rush ends in school history, Irvin made a name for himself in his only two seasons in Morgantown.
Donning the No. 11 and dreadlocks flying behind him, Irvin was second in the nation with 14 sacks (second in school history) as a junior in 2010 and forced two fumbles. As a senior in 2011, his sack numbers were down, but that was mainly due to the standard he set the previous season, forcing teams into double-teams. Despite his lower sack numbers, Irvin had one more forced fumble, finishing with three.
Irvin was picked 15th overall in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks, where he played four seasons. Since, he’s had a good pro career with the Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.
Honorable mentions: Julian Miller (2010-11), Will Clarke (2010-13), Noble Nwachukwu (2013-16)
Defensive tackle: Chris Neild (2010)
A difficult position to pick, defensive tackle, or “nose,” had many different responsibilities for the Mountaineers, depending on what scheme was being played.
In the 3-3-5 under Casteel and Gibson, it was more of a eat-up-blockers type spot and not meant to roll up defensive stats. This is where Neild thrived in his lone season of the 2010s. The 2010 defense was known for its ability to get to the quarterback, finishing with 45 sacks and 85 tackles for loss.
A big reason for that was Neild’s ability to clog the middle and allow the outside rushers to make plays. He finished his senior year with 35 tackles, including four for a loss and three sacks, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL draft and played four years as a pro.
Honorable mentions: Christian Brown (2013-16), Darius Stills (2017-19), Kyle Rose (2012-15), Darrien Howard (2013-16)
Outside linebacker: David Long (2016-18)
Before Long even took the field for the Mountaineers, Gibson mentioned that he could break tackling records at WVU. While he came up short on that prediction, Long was outstanding during his three-year career, especially as a junior in 2018.
Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Long finished with 108 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss (a school record) and seven sacks. Long put up defensive lineman numbers as a linebacker and lived in opponents’ backfields.
In his career, Long had 246 tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks. He declared early for the NFL draft and spent this season with the Tennessee Titans after he was picked in the sixth round of the 2019 draft.
Honorable mentions: J.T. Thomas (2010), Najee Goode (2010-11), Shaq Petteway (2012-15)
Middle linebacker: Nick Kwiatkoski (2012-15)
Coming in as a scrawny safety out of high school, Kwiatkoski transformed into one of the best linebackers for WVU, especially during his senior season in 2015.
While he had more tackles as a junior in 2014, Kwiatkoski was more productive in other ways as a senior, finishing with four sacks after not having any the year prior and also had three interceptions.
Kwiatkoski finished his career with 295 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, six interceptions and three forced fumbles. He was an overall player in the middle of West Virginia’s defense when it transitioned into a Big 12-caliber unit.
He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, where he is still thriving today.
Honorable mentions: Al-Rasheed Benton (2014-17), Jared Barber (2011-15)
Cornerback: Daryl Worley (2013-15)
Worley had the overall body of work that puts him at the top of a list of solid cornerbacks for WVU over the last 10 years.
Continually matched up against some of the best receivers in the Big 12, Worley won some and lost some, but his consistency and playmaking ability sparked the defense more often than not.
Worley came on late as a true freshman in 2013, but became a starter as a sophomore, finishing his career with 10 interceptions, 21 pass breakups and 9.5 tackles for loss. During his junior season in 2015, Worley was named first team all-Big 12.
Worley declared a season early for the NFL draft and was selected in the third round by the Carolina Panthers, where he played two seasons. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018 but, after an altercation with police, was released. He then signed with the Oakland Raiders, where he’s spent the last two seasons as a safety.
Honorable mentions: Brandon Hogan (2010), Keith Tandy (2010-11), Terrell Chestnut (2012-15), Rasul Douglas (2015-16), Keith Washington (2018-19)
Safety: Karl Joseph (2012-15)
One of the most impressive highlight tapes you’ll see comes from Karl Joseph — remaining a hard-hitting ball hawk his entire career, though it had its ups and downs.
As a true freshman in 2012, Joseph locked down the free safety spot, though he may have been playing a bit out of position on the back end of the defense. During the rest of his career, though, he played closer to the line of scrimmage and absolutely thrived.
Although a torn ACL cut his senior season short, Joseph finished his career with 284 tackles (including 104 as a freshman), 16.5 tackles for loss, nine interceptions, eight forced fumbles, 14 pass breakups and two touchdowns.
Despite his injury, Joseph was selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2016 draft by the Raiders, where he’s been a steady contributor since.
Honorable mentions: Robert Sands (2010), Terence Garvin (2010-12), Darwin Cook (2010-13), K.J. Dillon (2012-15), Kyzir White (2016-17), Dravon Askew-Henry (2014-18)
