After spending the past two seasons with one of the worst defenses at the FBS level, particularly when it came to defending the passing attack, the thing about WVU football bringing in a new coaching staff that might have fans the most excited is that they'll see a new defense on the gridiron this fall.
The Mountaineers spared no expense in hiring a man they trust to build that defense – head coach Rich Rodriguez went and lured Oklahoma defensive coordinator Zac Alley to Morgantown, reuniting a duo that were together at Jacksonville State from 2022-2023. Alley is a student of Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, and is renowned for putting together a defense that makes it difficult to score.
Alley spoke with the press on Thursday for the first time since the Mountaineers opened fall camp earlier this week, and he expressed pleasure at both the way the players who were with him during the spring developed this summer as well as the transfer acquisitions the team added following spring practices.
"I think that we're certainly a lot more talented than we were in the spring," Alley said. "Just as a whole, I think we have both developed players that were here that went through a great strength and summer conditioning program, and obviously we get to work with them now in the summer and that helps a lot. And then we brought in a lot of guys who can compete."
WVU DC Zac Alley on his defense: "I think we're a lot more talented than we were in the spring."
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) July 31, 2025
That being said, it's still early in the process – the team has 30 days until they open the season against Robert Morris – and he assured the media that no single starting position has been decided upon yet and that everyone is getting plenty of reps right now so he can better determine who stands out.
"No job is has been earned yet and no job is safe, and everyone is kind of mixing in between the 1s, 2s, and 3s right now and seeing who can help us and who can't," he said.