Week 10 Defensive Helmet Stickers

The Mountaineer defense put on a show Thursday night at Baylor. Let's focus on a few individual performances.

The Mountaineer defense put on an absolute show against Baylor Thursday night. West Virginia held Baylor to only 17 points in the game which featured several electrifying defensive plays. 

The West Virginia defense was flying all over the field and the Mountaineers seemingly lived in Baylor’s backfield the majority of the game. The team never seemed to miss a beat even after Josh Norwood, the team’s leading tackler, was ejected from the game for targeting. 

Let’s focus on three individual performances worthy of helmet stickers.

Darius Stills

Darius put on the performance of his career after his first quarter chat with ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath. Stills told McGrath, “Make sure you report that Baylor is soft up front.” When she reported this to the play-by-play commentators, they collectively erupted with enjoyment and excitement. Darius Stills didn’t guarantee West Virginia would win the game, but he made it clear he felt Baylor couldn’t block him. When you make statements like that, you better back them up and he certainly did just that. He finished the game with 10 tackles, 8 solo tackles, 3 sacks, and 3 TFL’s. He was a dominant force in the game. His play on the field coupled with his remarks to Molly McGrath make this a performance Mountaineer fans will speak about for years to come.

Noah Guzman

Guzman made his first career start Thursday night and the sophomore did not disappoint. He led the team in tackles and secured a Baylor Bears turnover. He finished the game with 11 tackles, 7 solo tackles, and a fumble recovery. Guzman provides much needed depth at safety and has the potential to be a key contributor in the secondary.

Kerry Martin Jr

Kerry Martin Jr played significant minutes after the ejection of Josh Norwood. The true freshman from Charleston, WV made the most of his opportunity with a terrific performance. He finished the game with 8 tackles, 5 solo tackles, 1 TFL, and a fumble recovery. The future is bright for Martin as he has already shown great promise in his young career.