At different times throughout Neal Brown’s four seasons in Morgantown, West Virginia’s defense has posted some of the best numbers in Big 12 Conference and also some of the worst. Last season, the Mountaineers allowed 37.8 points per game against conference opponents, placing them last in the ten-team league.

Two years ago, WVU was second-best in the Big 12, yielding 21.8 points per game.

With transfer portal defections and a young roster taking the field in 2022, some growing pains were anticipated on the defensive side of the ball. The Mountaineers allowed at least 38 points in seven games and they ranked 116th out of 131 FBS teams in points allowed per game.

“In the second half of the season, we got a lot better on defense. One of the reasons being is that we got more aggressive with play calls. I thought that allowed us to play a little faster than we had previously up to that point,” said WVU co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach ShaDon Brown.

“How you remedy that is you hope you have returners. I don’t know how you can remedy it if you have new pieces. We’ve got some pieces back. Naturally, we should be better in that aspect because we’ve got some guys that have played and have played together.”

Brown is working with seven cornerbacks in spring drills and that number will increase early in the summer. Redshirt sophomore Andrew Wilson-Lamp has played in 15 games over the last two seasons.

Sophomore Jacolby Spells played in nine games last year as a true freshman. He returned an interception for a touchdown to seal WVU’s victory at Virginia Tech.

“I thought last year he had some plays where he flashed and some plays where he didn’t. That’s what I call growing pains. That’s any freshman at any position is going to have those growing pains.

“He has changed his work habits to be able to play at this level. I am starting to see that out there in practice, just being able to control his body and his play speed and play strength. I think he is a guy that is going to make a huge jump and you will see that in the fall.”

Redshirt junior Jaylon Shelton is entering his second year with the Mountaineers. He arrived in Morgantown late in the summer, just prior to the start of training camp.