Changes Incoming: WVU to Give More Opportunities to Pair of Promising Corners

West Virginia continues to search for answers at corner.

West Virginia's secondary has been a sore spot on this team through the first three weeks of the season, allowing opposing quarterbacks to go a combined 50/86 for 823 yards, seven touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

The Mountaineers have tried just about everything with top options Garnett Hollis Jr., Ayden Garnes, and Dontez Fagan, but to no avail. For this Saturday's Big 12 opener against Kansas, you'll see a couple of new-ish faces getting significant playing time at corner.

“I think some guys are going to get some opportunities as long as they stay healthy this week," said head coach Neal Brown. "TJ Crandall is going to play more. Jacolby Spells, who we feel like is close to being 100%, he’s going to play and get in the mix. As far as anybody else, it’s to be determined at this point. But those are the two main guys that deserve to play and deserve some opportunities to get in the game.”

Spells suffered an upper-body injury back in the spring and was limited throughout fall camp. He was forced into action as a true freshman due to the lack of depth the Mountaineers had following the injury to Charles Woods in the season-opener in 2022. He had a pick-six in the win over Virginia Tech but struggled in pass coverage for much of the year. Last season, he went into more of a depth role while seeing action on special teams. The coaching staff has spoken highly of him all offseason, noting significant strides from a physical standpoint.

As for Crandall, he's far from a finished product but he does have more game experience at corner at this level than Spells. In ten games as a true freshman at Colorado State, he recorded 19 tackles, three passes defended, an interception, and a tackle for loss.

“TJ is athletic, fast," defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. "You get in this world that because you take a transfer that they’re start-ready, game-ready. I mean, TJ is still a second-year player. He’s still a sophomore. But they’re going to have opportunities and they deserve it.”

Hollis, Garnes, and Fagan won't see their playing time completely diminish, but WVU has to find answers there so they're reps should see a slight decrease with Spells and Crandall expected to see more action.

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