Players to Watch: Iowa State Defense
The West Virginia Mountaineers will be traveling to Ames this weekend to take on the No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones. This will be an opportunity to get a big win over a top ten team on the road but to do so, the Mountaineers are going to have to be efficient offensively against a very tough defense to move the ball on.
Below are three Iowa State defensive players to watch for this Saturday.
DE Ja'Quan Bailey
For some reason, Ja'Quan Bailey has flown under the radar his entire collegiate career. In 45 games at Iowa State, Bailey has racked up 146 tackles, 43 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, three fumble recoveries, and four forced fumbles. He is a guy that just knows how to get near the football and make plays and if West Virginia's young offensive line has trouble stopping him, QB Jarret Doege could be in for a long day. Bailey is no doubt an NFL player.
DE Eyioma Uwazurike
Uwazurike has been a steady pass rusher for Iowa State over the last couple of seasons, but is playing the best football of his career in 2020. So far this season, Uwazurike has registered 25 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and three sacks. He moves well for his size (6'6" 310 lbs) but is more of a bull rusher than a finesse rusher. Briason Mays will certainly have his hands full on that right side.
LB Mike Rose
The leader of the Cyclone defense is junior linebacker Mike Rose. Rose just seems to be getting better and better and better every single time he runs out onto the field. Through nine games this season, Rose has tallied 76 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and four interceptions. He has already topped his season totals from the previous two years and it took him five games less to reach those numbers. Rose is terrific dropping back in coverage as you can tell with the four interceptions, but is a very underrated run stopper. If West Virginia's offense has a big day, it'll be because Rose didn't have his best game.
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