SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Taijh Alston
Taijh Alston (Lumberton, N.C.) joined the Mountaineer football team following a rocky first two seasons of college football. His experience began at East Carolina, but Alston transferred to Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 2018, his redshirt freshman season.
When the West Virginia coaching staff changed, Alston transferred to the Mountaineers and has since become a pillar of the defensive line.
In four seasons in the gold and blue, Alston has amassed 52 tackles (31 solo), 15 TFLs for 76 yards, eight sacks for 49 yards, and four forced fumbles.
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2021 (r-Jr.)
- Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Honorable Mention selection
- Played in 13 games, including 12 starts
- Finished with 37 tackles, including 23 solo stops, five sacks and 11 tackles for loss
- Ranked No. 2 on the team in tackles for loss (11)
- Recorded three tackles, including a tackle for loss and a forced fumble, in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Minnesota
- Had three tackles against Texas
- Registered his fifth sack of the year at Kansas State
- Had three tackles against Oklahoma State and assisted on a tackle for loss
- One of his two tackles against Iowa State was for a loss
- Recorded three tackles at TCU
- Had five tackles against Texas Tech, including 2.5 behind the line for TFLs
- Finished with a pair of sacks at Oklahoma, a career high
- Tallied 1 1/2 sacks against Virginia Tech to go along with four total tackles
- Earned his first career start at Maryland and had five tackles, including a TFL
2020 (COVID)
- Worked his way back from his previous year’s injury and played against Army in the Liberty Bowl
2019 (r-So.)
- Played in two games before sustaining a season-ending knee injury at Missouri
- Finished with a sack against James Madison
- Enrolled at West Virginia in January
2018 (r-Fr.) – Copiah-Lincoln CC
- Played for coach Glen Davis at Copiah Lincoln Community College
- First team All-Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC)
2017 (Fr.) – East Carolina
- Redshirted
- Enrolled at East Carolina in January but transferred to Copiah-Lincoln in the summer
High School
- Three-year varsity starter as a defensive end for coach Ryan Riggan at Union Pines
- Earned All-Cape Fear Valley 3-A Conference First-Team honors
- Charlotte Observer ranked him as a top-25 recruit in North Carolina
- Three-star rating per 247Sports and Scout
- Also a standout in basketball
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