West Virginia’s secondary is getting a little more flexible this fall, and that could end up smoothing over one of the biggest questions on the defense. With several defenders who have spent time at corner throughout their careers, Zac Alley has some room to shuffle pieces around in the back end.
Two of the more interesting moves involve Andrew Powdrell and Nick Taylor, both of whom are set to change positions in 2026. That shift could give the Mountaineers a cleaner path to sorting out the defensive backfield.
Taylor barely saw the field in 2025, but when he did, he made it count. He delivered some hard contact, including a notable hit against Utah, and his move to corner does not look like a major leap.
At Appalachian State, he played seven games at corner and also took reps there in practice last season. Over 147 snaps at the position with the Mountaineers, he gave up 11 catches for 89 yards.
Back in the spring, Taylor was moved to corner because of the uncertainty there, and he showed encouraging signs. He may not have the length of Chams Diagne, Rayshawn Reynolds, or Da’Mun Allen, but he is hardly undersized.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 193 pounds, Taylor brings a physical style that fits the job. If he can lock down a starting spot opposite Chams Diagne, that would take some pressure off Alley.
Powdrell brings a different kind of versatility. At 5-foot-10 and 196 pounds, he has bounced around a bit both by school and by position, and that background has helped him adapt. He spent plenty of time at wide corner at Montana State and UNLV, so working on a bigger part of the field is nothing new for him.
His rise since arriving in Morgantown has been steady. The coaching staff was impressed in the spring by how much ground he could cover in a short amount of time and by his ability to get to the ball.
When West Virginia recruited him from the transfer portal, the plan was originally to use him at nickel/sam, but that idea changed quickly. He was making too many plays to leave behind Geimere Latimer, and the staff also saw a chance to help the safety group by moving him.
Getting Powdrell and Latimer on the field at the same time was the priority.
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West Virginia spent the offseason remaking an offensive line that needed a reset after a rough 2025, bringing in Rick Trickett as line coach and adding experienced transfers to shore up a unit that had too often been the issue. Rich Rodriguez has pointed to the groups returning starters as part of the answer, but he also made clear the Mountaineers are not just counting on the veterans to carry the load this fall.
What has stood out inside the room is Kevin Brown, a freshman Rodriguez praised for being physically and mentally ready to help sooner rather than later. For a program trying to stabilize the front and find real competition across the depth chart, that kind of early emergence matters, especially when the line is still sorting out exactly how the pieces fit together. [Read more 🡒]
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Mike Hawkins Jr. has already emerged as the name to watch, with the coaching staff and front office singling him out early and carrying a growing confidence in what he showed during spring practice. Even with that momentum, the other quarterback in the room matters just as much, because the staff knows the backup could be called on at any time. The way West Virginia manages camp will say plenty about how stable it believes the position really is. [Read more 🡒]