Opponent Defensive Breakdown: TCU Horned Frogs

As the Mountaineers prepare for their game with TCU, let's take a deeper look at the Horned Frogs' defense

On Black Friday, the Mountaineers will conclude its 2019 season in Fort Worth, TX as West Virginia faces off with the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU is known for having 'smart' defenses that rarely commit fatal mistakes. Led by Head Coach Gary Patterson and Defensive Coordinator Chad Glasgow, the Horned Frogs are allowing 27 points per game and 345.4 yards per game (141.9 rushing yards and 203.45 passing yards).

Gary Patterson has been the head coach for TCU since December 2000, and his 19 seasons make him the nation’s second-longest tenured head coach only behind Kirk Ferentz at Iowa. TCU has won six Big 12 Championships since Patterson has taken over. Patterson started with TCU in 1998 as the defensive coordinator and has always led with a defensive mindset.

Chad Glasgow joined Patterson’s staff back in 2000 as the safeties coach, and ultimately worked his way up to Defensive Coordinator in 2016. Glasgow runs the 4-2-5 defensive scheme, which means he utilizes a speedy secondary and relies on trusting their big defensive lineman to stop the run and their linebackers to read the play and make the decision on whether to step back into pass coverage or attack the run.

Injuries:

S Keenan Reed is nursing an injury to an unannounced location. It is uncertain if he will be available against West Virginia on Friday

S La'Kendrick Van Zandt has missed the last two games due to an unannounced injury. His status for Friday's contest against West Virginia is up in the air

CB Noah Daniels is projected to miss the entire 2019 season due to an unspecified injury

Players to keep an eye on:

Garret Wallow (Linebacker) – Wallow is the leader of the defense and is involved in almost every play. He leads the in tackles with an impressive 113 and 15 of them are tackles for loss. He also has one interception and is tied for first on the team with 3.5 sacks on the year.

Ross Blacklock (Defensive Tackle) – Blacklock is tied with Wallow with 3.5 sacks on the year and has 38 tackles this season. He is a bigger defender and clogs the running lane for opposing running backs.

Trevon Moehrig (Safety) – Moehrig leads the team with four interceptions and has nine pass breakups. He also has 58 tackles and is used to help stop the run frequently.

The Mountaineers will have a tough time running against this big front of defensive lineman so this could be another opportunity for Jarret Doege and these young receivers to put up big numbers. Since it is the last game of the season, be sure to look out for some new plays and schemes by Head Coach Neal Brown to rattle this TCU defense.

Please follow me on Twitter @John_Pentol_ for all West Virginia Mountaineer news and updates!