Marcis Floyd Describes 'Smooth Transition' to New Position, New Team
When the Mountaineer coaching staff was scanning the transfer portal for secondary help, one of the first guys that came across was former Murray State corner Marcis Floyd.
Upon arriving in Morgantown, the expectation was that Floyd would compete for a starting spot at corner, opposite Charles Woods. Since joining the program, WVU lost a pair of starting corners in Daryl Porter Jr. and Nicktroy Fortune. One would think that with their departures that Floyd would slide right into a starting spot. Defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley and head coach Neal Brown noticed right away they could slide him back to safety and search for more veteran help at corner.
Floyd made the transition in the spring from corner to safety and the staff was able to land not one, not two, but three transfer corners; Wesley McCormick (James Madison), Rashad Ajayi (Colorado State), and Jaylon Shelton (Tyler JC).
"I feel like it was a smooth transition," Floyd responded when asked about the position change. "I had a lot of guys help me. Had a lot of extra film study, and a lot of extra coaching as soon as I came in to try to get to know the playbook a little faster. From corner, you just listen to what the safety says. Now I'm at safety, it's like I'm the quarterback of the defense so I have to tell those guys what to do all the time now. I like controlling the defense."
Learning a new position and a new defense all in one offseason can be a lot for one to handle. Luckily for Floyd, learning the defensive scheme has been fairly easy, thanks to his previous school.
"For me, personally, it kind of is [easy]. Because at Murray State we had some of the same concepts, so it hasn't been too hard getting adjusted to this defense. It's just different wording. We're running the same stuff it's just called different."
When making the jump from the FCS to the Power Five, expectations are fairly low from the fans' perspective. It's a major jump in talent and oftentimes that success doesn't translate to a tougher level of football. Over the past couple of years, WVU has seen that success carry over with Alonzo Addae, who transferred in from Rhode Island and Charles Woods, who came in from Illinois State. Floyd saw how those two made the jump from FCS to WVU and was one of the many reasons why he chose West Virginia.
"Just talking to all the coaches, it just felt like the right move to make. It just felt like they were trying to start something new here and knowing that I'll have the opportunity to play at the highest level and kind of lead the younger guys that are here, said Floyd. "I've always had that chip on my shoulder mentality. Just because you're always going to be doubted no matter what you do, no matter where you're at."
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