It’s game week, and the Mountaineers just announced their starters for the Backyard Brawl against Pitt. While many positions were expectedly filled by returning starters like Dante Stills and Charles Woods, there are a few spots on West Virginia’s defense that may bring some new names into the spotlight.
Here’s some under the radar players to look out for on the defensive side of the ball on Thursday.
The defensive line has been a strength of West Virginia for years, but most of the talk revolves around Stills. While Stills is the most decorated on the line and undoubtedly leads WVU’s defense, Taijh Alston is also a defensive force that made an impact last season.
Alston arrived at WVU in 2019 but endured a few injuries that postponed the majority of his playing time to 2021. As a redshirt junior last season, the defensive lineman made 12 starts, finishing with 37 tackles including five sacks.
Alston enters his sixth season of college football after being the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Honorable Mention in 2021 and has the potential to have a big game against Pitt.
The biggest rebuild for the Mountaineers in the offseason is the secondary; with new faces eager for playing time, there is a lot of room for overlooked players to do something big week one.
Safety Aubrey Burks comes back this year after sustaining a season-ending injury in 2021. The sophomore is listed to start week one and according to Brown, has significantly improved in the offseason.
Burks only has six games to his collegiate career so far, but with many defensive roles to fill from the loss of key players from last season, Burks has the opportunity to prove himself with a hot start against the Panthers.
Another player coming off of injury is linebacker Lance Dixon, a redshirt sophomore who came to WVU in 2021 after two years at Penn State. Dixon played in 10 games last season with four starts and has earned the starting job against Pitt. For his first year in a new system, Dixon made solid contribution to the Mountaineers’ defense, finishing with 36 total tackles in 2021. Dixon has impressed Brown over fall camp, becoming a defensive leader and looking to make an impact his second season at WVU.
Photo from WVU Sports
