WVU Football: Annual Gold-Blue Spring Game Saturday
By Phil Poling
Defense
Noble Nwachukwu and Christian Brown graduated. Rasul Douglas, Maurice Fleming and Justin Arndt are all gone too. That means lots of competition for Tony Gibson and his DAWGS.
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Jalen Harvey (No. 94) is another intriguing JuCo addition. At 6’2″, 320 lbs., Harvey’s got unrivaled sizealong the defensive front. Ezekiel Rose (No. 22) is another JuCo transfer looking to make an impact.
Gibson will be doing a lot of shuffling on the back end of the defense as well as the front. Mike Daniels (No. 40) was a hot transfer name last summer, but didn’t break out his first year in Morgantown. With increased reps against the Hurricanes in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Daniels could see an improved role in 2017. JuCo cornerback Hakeem Bailey (No. 24) has decent size at 6′, 186 lbs., but expect an adjustment period to the speed of Big 12 offenses.
Elijah Battle (No. 19) has caught the eye of many this spring and looks like the replacement for Rasul Douglas. Battle rotated in last year and played a very physical brand at the corner position.