When DB Beanie Bishop transferred to West Virginia from Minnesota in the spring earlier this year, Mountaineer fans might not have expected him to make this much of an impact.
The senior from Louisville now has four interceptions on the season and a nation-leading 12 passes defended.
“Beanie’s played at a high level. He’s been around the ball a lot,” Neal Brown, said about Bishop, in a post-game conference Saturday.
Bishop’s first pick came in “funky” fashion and granted West Virginia an opportunity to get the upper edge, early in the second quarter. “I seen him, I’m like, I’m thinking he’s going to catch it. I seen the ball bouncing there. I hurry up and ran to it. Couldn’t let one get away like I did Texas Tech,” Bishop, said about his first interception. The Mountaineers capitalized with a Jaheim White touchdown.
“We got to create takeaways so we can get the ball back to the offense so we can score more points,” Bishop, said about the defensive mentality.
WVU was able to do much of the same after Bishop’s second INT. On the first drive of the second half, UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee fired to his receiver and Bishop jumped on it. Garret Greene got his second rushing touchdown of the game shortly after.
“Just playing a little catch, man. He kind of did feel like a double move and I was able to see through him, through the quarterback, and was able to make a play on the ball,” Bishop said about his second interception.
On top of his ball-hawking ability, Bishop has also been a reliable tackler for West Virginia, making 41 total tackles (32 solo).
Bishop and the Mountaineer defense will look to stay on track against Brigham Young on Saturday night at Milan Puskar Stadium.
