Jordan Lesley Says There Was 'Way More Good Than Bad' in Blowout Loss to K-State

WVU defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley revisits the Mountaineers' recent loss.

Schuyler Callihan | Oct 23, 2024

West Virginia University defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

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West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia's defense did exactly what it wanted to against the run last week against Kansas State. They knew that they had no shot of winning the game if D.J. Giddens, Dylan Edwards, and others gashed them on the ground.

Defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley sold out to stop the run and his unit succeeded in that area of the game, limiting Giddens, the nation's fifth-leading rusher entering the week, to just three yards per carry.

What they failed to do, however, was defend the pass against a quarterback who had been a little inconsistent throwing it this season. Avery Johnson completed 19-of-29 pass attempts for 298 yards and three scores.

When asked if there were any tweaks that could be made this deep into the season or any different way to call the defense, Neal Brown shut it down stating, “We’ve tried all that. We know it’s been an issue and then it was better because we changed up a few things. Really Kansas State, and credit to them, we were going to sell out to stop the run and if they beat us passing the ball, then okay, tip your hat."

Jordan Lesley understands that things got away from them in the second half, but he still walked away from last week's loss optimistic...somehow.

“Really the only disappointing thing for me was I thought there in the third we let the circumstances affect how we finished. Because if I look at it up to that point, quite honestly we’ve played some of the best defense we’ve played all year against a good opponent.

"We had the one (big play) in the first half and really, Anthony (Wilson) just tried to guess, misplayed the route, and a good team, good player will make you pay. But other than that…as a unit we did some really good things. We let some circumstances affect how we finished the game. That was disappointing, but it was way more good than bad.”

I'm not going to argue with Lesley about the production in the first half, the group did play well with the exception of the big play that he mentioned. But more good than bad? That's a bit of a stretch to me. I didn't see much "good" on tape in the second half whatsoever. That coupled with Neal Brown stating they've "tried everything" is not very encouraging for Mountaineer fans heading into a game where they'll be facing the best wide receiver in the country in Tetairoa McMillan.

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