West Virginia Defensive Players to Watch vs. Longhorns in Week 5

West Virginia will have a new-look defense in 2022

Matt Galatzan | Sep 29, 2022

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On Saturday, the Texas Longhorns will welcome the West Virginia Mountaineers to Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, where they will look to avenge their late-season loss in 2021

Last year's loss kept the Longhorns out of bowl eligibility, giving the team new motivations heading into a new season.

The Mountaineers largely struggled in 2021 but now field some new impressive talent in 2022, as well as returning their entire starting offensive line.

West Virginia currently holds a 6-5 advantage over the Longhorns in the all-time series between the two and is 4-2 all-time in Austin.

Last year, the Mountaineers' defense was the strength of their team and the primary reason behind their bowl berth, ranking fifth in the conference in scoring defense, seventh in rushing defense, third in pass defense, and fourth in total defense.

Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, the majority of that defense is gone, and they are currently breaking in nine new starters.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the Mountaineers' offensive players to watch in Week 5.

Be sure to stick with Longhornscountry.com as we preview the matchup between the Longhorns and Mountaineers throughout the week.

DE Taijh Alston

The Mountaineers leading returning pass rusher at defensive end, Taijh Alston returns for hoping to improve on an already productive campaign. Last season, Alston finished with 37 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five sacks, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

Alston has just one sack in 2022 so far, but has two forced fumbles and is primed for a breakout performance.

DT Dante Stills

One thing working in West Virginia's favor will be the return of defensive tackle Dante Stills, who was the Mountaineers' top defender in 2021. Last season, Stills had 36 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, seven sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. He also came away with one interception.

Stills currently leads the team with 2.5 sacks this season.

LB Lee Kponga

A key addition at a position of need, former Syracuse linebacker and East Mississippi CC transfer Lee Kponga has already been a major player for the Mountaineers in 2022.

Kponga finished as an All-Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference First Team selection, an all-MJCCC North Division First Team selection, and finished the season with 84 tackles, including 34 solo tackles, two sacks, 5½ tackles for loss, an interception, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.

Kponga has lived up the hype, leading the team with 24 total tackles.

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Published Sep 29, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.