MORGANTOWN — Kyzir White had to sit through the first two days of the NFL draft without his name being called, but it didn’t take long April 28 during Day 3 for his professional dream to become a reality.
With the 19th pick of the fourth round, the Los Angeles Chargers took White, the second safety the Chargers took in the draft. They took Florida State’s Derwin James in the first round.
However, Los Angeles has been weak at linebacker, and White was looked at as both a safety and line-backer during pre-draft workouts. The Chargers could look for him to play weakside, which would open White up to playing both in pass coverage and downhill to stop the run.
“Kyzir was a hybrid safety/linebacker, but we see him more as a linebacker for us,” Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said. “He’s very athletic and very physical that we like at linebacker, and we feel like he should be able to handle that projection. We see a lot of strong safeties to ‘Will’ linebacker, so that’s a common projection for us. Kyzir has some long arms and he’s tall and he can really run, and you have to have that.
“He loves to hit. He’s a physical player that can stop the run, but also has a background against the pass, and you’ll need that in the type of defense we run.”
Telesco mentioned that White will help out on special teams.
White will join former WVU quarterback Geno Smith on the Chargers’ roster.
White was the only Mountaineer drafted — the first time only one WVU player was picked since 2006 (cornerback Dee McCann, Detroit Lions).
Other Mountaineers, though, will have chances as undrafted free agents.
White’s brother Ka’Raun signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Perhaps the biggest surprise from the draft was that Ka’Raun was not selected in the round of seven, but he will have a chance to break into a Seattle receiving corps that lacks depth.
Cornerback Elijah Battle signed with the Arizona Cardinals, linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton signed with the Lions, long-snapper Nick Meadows signed with the Indianapolis Colts, offensive lineman Kyle Bosch signed with the Carolina Panthers and fullback Elijah Wellman signed with the Washington Redskins.
Running back Justin Crawford will likely sign at some point.
The Dallas Cowboys traded for former WVU wide receiver Tavon Austin from the Los Angeles Rams for a sixth-round pick. Austin, who played for the Mountaineers from 2009-’12 and was the No. 8 overall selection in the 2013 draft, was phased out of the Rams’ offense and special teams last season.
Austin had just 13 catches for 47 yards and no touchdowns in 2017. He made a bigger impact in the running game, with 59 carries for 270 yards and a touchdown. NFL.com’s Ian Rapaport tweeted, “The Cowboys traded for a RB, not a WR. That’s how they view Tavon Austin. Kind of like they had with Lance Dunbar.”
Austin’s addition may have directly affected Charleston-native Ryan Switzer being traded to the Oakland Raiders. Switzer was a dynamic punt returner at North Carolina, but Austin may take over the punt return job in Dallas.
