WVU Shuffles Back End of Defense as JaCorey Thomas Gets Set to Make Debut

Rich Rodriguez says WVU has made some changes in the secondary. We take our best guess at what those changes could be.

Georgia Athletics

The secondary was a mess last weekend against Oklahoma State. The good news is that the Mountaineers won't face another passing attack that lethal for the rest of the season. Also, they should have Georgia defensive back transfer JaCorey Thomas ready to roll this week against Iowa State, even if it's in a limited role.

"He's been with us for a week and a half, so he's going to learn. I think he will continue to learn," WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said during his radio show Monday night. "We made a couple of moves defensively in that back end to try to get guys in a position they are maybe more comfortable with. He's entering his second or third week of practice, so he'll get a little bit more comfortable too, and I think he can help us. He played down in Georgia in a good league, and he's a mature guy."

What could the changes look like?

West Virginia University safety Andrew Powdrell | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Well, speaking of moving guys back to positions they are more comfortable with, Andrew Powdrell going back to nickel/sam seems likely. That's what the initial plan for him was until he had a strong camp, and at the time, they needed him more at safety.

JaCorey Thomas is currently listed as a nickel/sam, but played the majority of his snaps at free safety a year ago at Georgia. Although he did not play last week, to me, it would make more sense to play Thomas at free safety and Powdrell as the backup nickel to Geimere Latimer.

Powdrell has really struggled in pass coverage through the first four games, allowing 10 catches on 12 targets for 202 yards and a touchdown. Also, he has a high missed-tackle percentage of 18%. Moving him back to nickel will not only give him a chance to be more comfortable but also give Latimer a breather every now and then. Right now, Latimer is averaging 62 plays per game and 68 plays against FBS competition. To keep him fresh, you're going to need to cut that workload down a little bit.

The addition of Thomas should help, but don't expect him to be the savior of this defense. He's going to be learning this system on the fly, and if Zac Alley doesn't hone in on what this unit does well, it can be information overload. It seems like he is on track to make his debut this weekend at Iowa State, but how much he plays is to be determined.