Darius Wiley Might Be WVU’s Breakout Gem Hiding in Plain Sight

You'll want to familiarize yourself with No. 91 on West Virginia's roster.

WVU Athletics Communications

I don't know how I managed to go the entire spring without bringing up new West Virginia defensive end Darius Wiley, but that drought comes to an end today.

The transfer from Hutchinson Community College is one of the most intriguing additions on WVU's defense that very few are aware of. Once the season begins, though, it won't take long for you to figure out who he is, considering he is 6'6", pushing 6'7", and 255 lbs — making him one of the tallest defensive linemen to play for the Mountaineers.

The talent is there, and the potential is legit. It's just going to take some time for him to figure things out at this level after a brief stint in JUCO. The main thing is for him to learn how to use that big frame of his properly, and according to Jed Drenning, he made some strides during spring ball.

“Excited about the potential of Darius Wiley and what his size can bring at that defensive end spot. It was fun to watch him because you saw some of the good, you saw some of the bad," he said in our recent episode of In the Gun. "I mean, he was engaged in some real battles with Kevin Brown, who was playing tackle to his side a number of times. He lost some of those battles, but there were also some moments where he managed to impact things in a pretty big way. Even in short-yardage, when you think of a guy with his frame and his size and his height, you don’t necessarily think of pad level or winning leverage at the point of attack, but there were a couple times in short-yardage situations against guys that he’s three or four inches taller than…I saw him demonstrate great pad level, get under them, and actually be disruptive in short-yardage situations against the run.”

In 12 games last season at Hutch, Wiley recorded 57 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, nine sacks, three pass breakups, and one forced fumble — he was everywhere. Right now, I have him as the No. 2 option at defensive end behind Coastal Carolina transfer Zeke Durham-Campbell. I would expect that projection to hold true; however, Wiley should be a key piece of the rotation up front, logging 20-30 snaps per game.

Wiley picked the Mountaineers over offers from Arkansas, Boise State, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville State, Marshall, Michigan State, Murray State, Old Dominion, Sacramento State, Syracuse, Texas State, Toledo, and Western Michigan.