West Virginia’s defensive front took an early hit in 2026, and now the Mountaineers are looking for two newcomers to help soften the blow.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday that defensive lineman Darius Wiley is out for the season with a lower-body injury. Rodriguez didn’t offer specifics, but he made clear the recovery timeline is a long one, saying it could take a year at minimum.
Wiley’s loss stings because he made an immediate impact in the opener against Coastal Carolina. The JUCO transfer wasn’t a familiar name before the season, but he flashed right away and was part of the play that forced a fumble the Mountaineers recovered. That ended up being the final play of his season.
With Wiley sidelined, West Virginia has some rotation options, and Rodriguez pointed to Jeremiah Johnson and Tobi Haastrup as the two names most likely to see their roles grow.
“Jeremiah Johnson, we brought him in as a pass rusher, and he’s still learning. He was down on the scout team, and he was doing some great stuff, so I told our defensive staff we got to give him some reps, so he got some quality reps in the game on Saturday.
Now, obviously, with Darius being down, Jeremiah will get more reps there. And Tobi Haastrup, who is another transfer that we brought in, he missed a large part of camp with an injury; he’s healthy now.
So, he’s another guy we’ve got to fast-forward, and now he’s got an opportunity to play some D end for us.”
Johnson showed well in the opener as a pass rusher, logging four pressures, three hurries and a quarterback hit in 15 snaps. Every one of those snaps came against the pass, and he didn’t have to deal with a single run play while he was on the field.
His college production at Butte JC backs up the upside. Last season, Johnson posted 34 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks and earned NorCal Conference Defensive MVP honors.
Haastrup didn’t make much noise in limited action, but that sample was tiny. He played just three defensive snaps, so there isn’t much to take from the opener.
He redshirted last season at Oregon and only started playing football as a senior in high school, but physically he already looks the part. The source comparison was Kevin Brown.
In Other News...
West Virginia Just Lost A Young Piece Fans Were Counting On
Rich Rodriguez used the seasons second Coaches Show to revisit West Virginias loss to Coastal Carolina, and the list of concerns was familiar: discipline, defensive breakdowns and an offense that never quite settled in. He also touched on Cam Cooks workload and the play up front, two areas the staff has been trying to steady as the season moves along.
The bigger setback came with an update on Darius Wiley, whose severe leg injury will keep him out for the rest of the year. Wiley is scheduled for surgery, a tough blow for a young player fans had been hoping would become part of the solution as the Mountaineers try to sort out the details around them. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rodriguez Sent WVU A Message After That Sloppy Finish
West Virginias season opener looked encouraging for a half, then turned messy in the kind of second-half stretch that can change the tone of a whole week. The Mountaineers had control early, but Coastal Carolina chipped away after halftime and exposed the sort of lapses Rich Rodriguez has little patience for, especially this early in the season when habits are still being formed.
Rodriguez did not wait around to let the film speak for itself. He held an immediate staff meeting after the game to address discipline and performance issues, stressing that mistakes have to be corrected quickly and standards have to stay consistent from one snap to the next. For a program trying to establish an identity under a head coach who clearly wants sharper execution, the disappointing finish was a reminder that the fixes cant wait. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Already Faces A Cam Cook Workload Decision
Cam Cooks opening-night workload gave West Virginia an early answer about how much it trusts him. The ball-carrier handled 30 carries in the season opener, a clear sign the Mountaineers believe he is ready for a heavy role and durable enough to absorb it. For a team trying to settle into the season, that kind of usage says plenty about where the coaching staff sees its best chances of moving the offense.
Cook has been here before, though, and not just in a limited sample. His past games have shown that similar or even heavier workloads have not been an issue, which is why the real question now is less about whether he can handle the load and more about how West Virginia chooses to manage it going forward. The opener may have answered one part of the equation, but it also set up a workload decision the Mountaineers will have to keep weighing as the games stack up. [Read more 🡒]