West Virginia’s opener against Coastal Carolina left plenty of frustration on the table, especially after the second half unraveled. But buried inside that mess were two defensive bright spots the Mountaineers can actually build on.
The first was the run defense. Coastal Carolina never found any real traction on the ground, finishing with just 52 yards on 27 carries. That works out to 1.9 yards per attempt, and for a Power Four defense facing a Group of Six opponent, that’s the kind of result you want to see.
The bigger takeaway, though, was the pass rush. West Virginia came into the season with a defensive front full of new starters and not much experience across the board.
Zeke Durham-Campbell was the only true defensive lineman on the roster who had started in the FBS before this season. Harper Holloman’s arrival from Western Kentucky helped, but the line was still a major question mark.
Against Coastal Carolina, that group answered with production. West Virginia’s defensive front accounted for 17 of the team’s 39 pressures on quarterback Deuce Bailey. Durham-Campbell led the way with six, followed by Nate Gabriel with five, Corey McIntyre Jr. with four, Darius Wiley with two, Emerson Joy with one and KJ Henson with one.
That number mattered. The 39 pressures were the most WVU has posted in 13 games under Zac Alley, and they blew past every total from last season: Robert Morris (23), Ohio (20), Pitt (27), Kansas (10), Utah (12), BYU (6), UCF (11), TCU (6), Houston (17), Colorado (22), Arizona State (17) and Texas Tech (19).
Still, the rush wasn’t clean enough. West Virginia had plenty of snaps where multiple defenders were in position to get home, but the finish wasn’t there.
Poor contain, over-pursuit and bad angles kept turning what should have been sacks into escape routes for Bailey. Instead of ending drives, the Mountaineers let him slip free and extend plays, and that fed directly into some of Coastal Carolina’s passing success.
So the message is pretty simple: the pressure is real, but it has to become cleaner pressure. If West Virginia can get into the neighborhood of 20 pressures a game, it should have a chance to rank near the top of the Big 12 in that category. Last season, Texas Tech and Utah led the league in that area, averaging 21.2 and 20.4, respectively.
There was also a tough injury hit in the middle of all that. Darius Wiley, a former JUCO All-American and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Defensive Player of the Year, had been trending toward a major role for the Mountaineers before a lower-body injury forced him off the field on a cart.
No update has been given yet on Wiley’s condition, but it did not look promising. Rich Rodriguez could provide more on his radio show tonight or at tomorrow’s press conference. With Wiley now sidelined, West Virginia will need someone else to step in and absorb his production.
In Other News...
WVU Added A New DB But One Key Question Still Looms
West Virginia added another defensive back to its future plans when JaCorey Thomas, a former Georgia defender, committed to the Mountaineers with an eye on the 2026 season. Thomas had taken part in rookie minicamp with the Carolina Panthers after going undrafted, but he did not sign an NFL contract, which opened the door for him to continue his career in Morgantown.
For WVU, the move brings in more help for a secondary that is always under the microscope, and it does so without forcing out anyone already on the roster. The bigger question now is how the staff will handle his arrival once he gets on campus, since the timing of when Thomas will actually be available to play in games has not yet been settled. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Hawkins Jr. Showed WVU More Than Just Running Ability
Mike Hawkins Jr. gave West Virginia a first look at what he can bring to the offense in his debut at quarterback, and it was more than just a burst of rushing production. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown while adding 103 yards and a score on the ground, but the sharper takeaway was how he managed the position. His vision, athleticism and decision-making showed up throughout the game, giving the Mountaineers a different kind of threat behind center.
The offense hit some rough patches in the second half, but the issues were tied more to penalties, a fumble and play-calling that became easier to read than to anything Hawkins was doing wrong. For West Virginia, that distinction matters. The debut suggested the Mountaineers may have found a quarterback who can do more than escape pressure and run, even if the full picture of what the offense can become is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
WVUs Schedule Just Got More Interesting After Week One
Week Zero gave West Virginia a little more to chew on as the season starts to take shape around the Big 12. The Mountaineers were already looking at a schedule that could shift quickly from week to week, and the first set of results across several future opponents offered an early glimpse at which teams are settling in and which ones are still sorting things out. For a program trying to map out the road ahead, even one opening weekend can change the conversation.
Oklahoma States trip to Tulsa was especially notable, while Cincinnati also showed plenty of offensive life in its opener against Boston College. Those results do not settle anything for West Virginia, but they do alter the early read on both matchups and add some intrigue before the Mountaineers get their own turn to answer on the field. [Read more 🡒]