Stellar, Standard & Subpar: Taijh Alston in 2020

Taking a look at what type of season West Virginia defensive end Taijh Alston could have

As we inch closer and closer to the start of the 2020 season, we take an in-depth look at each player on the Mountaineer roster. In these breakdowns, we discuss what a stellar, standard, and subpar season would look like for them. We are going in numerical order, so today we turn to defensive lineman Taijh Alston.

The 2020 season was a big opportunity for junior college transfer and former East Carolina defensive end Taijh Alston to make his mark. The Mountaineers were expecting him to come in and make an impact right away. Unfortunately, quite the opposite happened. In the second game of the season at Missouri, Alston tore his patellar tendon and was required to have surgery, forcing him to miss the remainder of the 2019 season.

Returning fully healthy in 2020, Alston is expected to be one of the Mountaineers' breakout stars as he checks in at No. 5 on our top ten breakout Mountaineers.

Stellar

For Alston, it's all about getting back on the field and getting back into game shape. A stellar season for him doesn't have to be the Big 12's leader in sacks or even the team leader in sacks. Instead, Alston just needs to prove he can be a reliable guy in the defensive line rotation. If he can do that in the early parts of the season, he could have an extremely strong second half of the year.

Standard 

It's really tough to put a standard on Alston considering he only played in one full game a year ago. However, I would say the standard would be Alston carving himself out a role as a third down pass rusher and setting himself up for a big 2021 season.

Subpar

A subpar season for Alston would be getting knocked out of the rotation or posing virtually no threat at all as a pass rusher. He was brought to Morgantown to be a pass rusher, so showing little to no signs of that would be a below average year in 2020.

Previous Players

No. 1 - T.J. Simmons

No. 2 - Jarret Doege

No. 3 - Trent Jackson

No. 4 - Leddie Brown

No. 5 - Dreshun Miller

No. 10 - Dylan Tonkery

No. 11 - Nicktroy Fortune

No. 12 - Austin Kendall

What kind of season are you expecting for Taijh Alston in 2020? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.