MORGANTOWN — Rashad Ajayi wanted to prove something in his final season of eligibility, but it wasn’t an easy decision for the current WVU cornerback to leave Colorado State, his home for four years.
He wanted to prove he could play against the best of the best at the Power Five level. However, he made his decision later than he hoped, after spring practice last May.
“I always saw myself playing at a Power Five school. I never received an official offer from West Virginia out of high school, but it was always a place of interest for me,” Ajayi said. “Especially growing up watching Tavon Austin play, he was just crazy. Watching him, I was like, ‘I wonder what it’d be like to play at that school or that level.’ ”
With the hope of enrolling before summer workouts at his new program — there were many in on Ajayi, who started 35 games for the Rams — one person stuck out above all during the recruitment process.
“There were a lot of teams trying to get me to come and look at the place, but coach ShaDon (Brown) seemed very genuine over the phone, so I wanted to come out and see how it was in person,” Ajayi said.
Brown, the Mountaineers’ co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, desperately wanted to add pieces to his position group. Not just any piece, either — he wanted to add experience. Ajayi fit the mold, which is why Brown jumped on Ajayi immediately when he entered the transfer portal.
With the season-opener at Pitt less than two weeks ago, Ajayi, along with James Madison transfer Wesley McCormick, will both be in the rotation at corner, even if they don’t win the starting spot opposite Charles Woods.
Not only is there a bump in skill coming to the Big 12 from the Mountain West, but there was a change in scheme at WVU compared to Colorado State.
The Rams asked Ajayi to rely more on his pure athleticism in man coverage, but the Mountaineers want all of their cornerbacks to play zone, as well.
“Coming from Colorado State, I played a lot of man coverage — probably 80 or 90% of the snaps, I was in press man,” Ajayi said. “Here, I have to play off more, look at more things, more key zones in my zone coverages. That’s probably the biggest adjustment I have to make learning this new defense and getting comfortable.
“It’s never really a challenge learning, because I want to learn. It’s kind of fun getting a chance to learn a new defense.”
