Jordan Lesley is Confident in WVU's Defense: 'The Sky's Not Falling'

After two games, the West Virginia defense has a lot to improve on. Jordan Lesley isn't deeply concerned with the issues that need to be fixed.

Schuyler Callihan | Sep 10, 2024

Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

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West Virginia Mountaineers

Giving up 306 yards through the air to UAlbany quarterback Myles Burkett did not sit well with West Virginia fans this past Saturday, as you could imagine. The Great Danes completed several deep balls down the field with six different receivers logging catches of 20 yards or more, including two that went for 40+.

It was the number one concern immediately following the game, but as we mentioned in the Mountaineer Postgame Show, there's no reason to pound the panic alarm repeatedly. It's two games into the season and the Mountaineers have several new faces making up the back end of the defense.

“The pass coverage, like, here’s the thing, I’m not down on our guys or feel any different way about them. We’re not executing very, very simple things," said WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley. "I think a little bit of it is trying to do too much. A lot of times you go into a game like this and they think they’ve got to have three picks and they get all these things published about them, PFF grades or whatever it is and it’s like, do what you’re coached to do. It’s simple fixes, it’s easy things. Whether it’s playing the ball in the air, the depth/width, execution of your drop. It’s game two, it’s easy fixes. The sky’s not falling, it’s not panic time. It’s simple little bitty fixes and we’ll get it fixed. I mean, if we’re just going to play two games and shut it down it will make my fall a little easier, but we got a lot of season left.”

While there are reasons to be concerned, you can tell just by watching the tape that it's nothing to be alarmed about, at least not right now. As Lesley alluded to, it's small things that pertain to their drops in coverage along with settling into their role and understanding how to play off of one another. It would be one thing if corners were getting burned every which way or were getting pushed around, but that's not the case. The guys WVU brought in through the transfer portal this offseason have played at a high level before and there's no reason to believe that they can't have that same success here.

“I think the competitions we talked about during fall camp are still competitions, especially in that corner room with (Dontez) Fagan, (TJ) Crandall), and (Jacolby) Spells," Lesley stated. "Everybody asked me going into it and I was high on them and I still am. But you get into games and there’s no scrimmages, there’s nothing controlled and you’re just not as far along on some things as you wanted to be and I understand that. We’ll get better and those competitions will stay open. They’ve been very fierce in fall camp and they’ll continue to be that way.”

In the previous four seasons with Lesley coordinating the defense, West Virginia has fared pretty well against the pass with the exception of 2022 when they lost their No. 1 corner, Charles Woods, in the season-opener. They were the No. 1 pass defense in the Big 12 in 2020, 3rd in 2021, 9th in 2022, and 7th in 2023 which was middle of the pack for a then 14-team league.

Of course, this year could be one of those years where the secondary has issues all season long, but history shows us that it's more likely that they'll find solutions and be just fine.

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