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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Ƶ After spending two years at Penn State, Lance Dixon believes he has found a better fit for his skills at West Virginia.
The 6-foot-2, 214-pounder was used mainly as an in-the-box linebacker by the Nittany Lions, but the will Ƶbacker spot at ƵU often asks a player to play in space, emphasizing both his speed and athleticism.
Dixon says heƵs made for the position.
ƵI like the way they let their wills play out in space,Ƶ said the junior of West VirginiaƵs 3-3-5 hybrid defensive scheme. ƵIƵm able to do more things than I was at my last school, and I like that a lot.
ƵBefore I was in the box like 90% of the time, where here it is more 50/50 when IƵm out or IƵm in. It can change each game, and I like that a lot.Ƶ
The speedy DixonƵs athletic talents are put to the test against Big 12 opponents, especially in comparison to the many ground-and-pound offenses in Penn StateƵs conference home, the Big Ten.
ƵThereƵs definitely a difference,Ƶ Dixon said of his new league compared to his old one. ƵGoing from an Iowa to an Oklahoma, it was entirely different. In the Big 12, thereƵs just so much more drop-back passing with more receivers split out, more empty sets, stuff like that.Ƶ
To increase his speed and better his ability to play in space, Dixon says heƵs Ƶfive to eight pounds lighterƵ than he was at Penn State, now topping out at 214 pounds.
ƵIƵm fast, and I like to run, and you get more opportunities to run outside the box,Ƶ he said. ƵI like to showcase my speed more than anything.Ƶ
The ability to better display his skills was the reason Dixon left Penn State.
A four-star recruit coming out of West Bloomfield High School, which is in the northwest corner of Detroit, Michigan, he had a wide range of scholarship offers during his prep days, eventually picking PSU over the likes of Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and many others.
ƵU wasnƵt involved in his recruiting process the first time around.
ƵI went to a camp here when I was in 10th grade, but I never really talked to West Virginia after that. It was a whole different coaching staff back then,Ƶ Dixon noted. ƵThis time, when I was looking around, I thought this was the best defensive fit for me.Ƶ
After deciding to leave Penn State, ƵU proved to be his ultimate destination.
ƵObviously, itƵs a difficult decision to transfer schools, but IƵm happy with the choice IƵve made,Ƶ he said ƵI wouldnƵt change anything if I had to do it again.Ƶ
After arriving at West Virginia last summer, Dixon quickly found playing time both on special teams and at weak-side linebacker.
He rotated with Exree Loe at the will, recording 24 tackles as he played in 10 games, starting four of them.
Dixon missed the last three games of the regular season with an injury but came back in time to start the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, which was his best performance as a Mountaineer, finishing with a game-high 11 tackles against Minnesota.
ƵIn the middle of the season last year, I started to feel comfortable and thought I started to play well, though thatƵs also when I got hurt,Ƶ Dixon said. ƵI stayed in the playbook, though, and when I came back, I did fairly well. In the bowl game, I felt I was much better than I had been.Ƶ
With last yearƵs experience under his belt, Dixon is even more confident about his role in West VirginiaƵs defense this coming season.
Because he decided to leave Penn State and entered the transfer portal in January of 2021 but didnƵt arrive at ƵU until five months later, he wasnƵt part of structured offseason workouts last winter or spring. HeƵs making up for lost time, though.
ƵI feel way better now than I did a year ago, because I didnƵt get the offseason training last year,Ƶ Dixon explained. ƵRight now, I feel way better. I have more stamina and can do more things.Ƶ
A multi-disciplinary studies major, Dixon is part of a 2022 Mountaineer defense that has many new faces at the second and third levels.
While most of the prime defensive line pieces return for West Virginia this year, Dixon and Loe, who is rehabbing from a knee injury and is unable to participate in contact drills this spring, bandit linebacker Jared Bartlett and cornerback Charles Woods are the most experienced players behind that d-line.
ƵWe have a whole bunch of new guys coming in. A lot of them are long and athletic. ItƵs going to be a fun season,Ƶ said Dixon. ƵI like the pieces we have, and what weƵre doing. We have a new mike linebacker in Lee (Kpogba). I like him a lot. We have a couple new safeties. WeƵll see if theyƵre ready for the season and if theyƵre ready to compete.Ƶ
West VirginiaƵs frustration began to percolate practically from the opening tip of its Big 12 Championship quarterfinal matchup with Kansas Wednesday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
The Mountaineers missed 13 of their first 14 field-goal attempts and trailed 19-4 when the lid blew off at the 9:58 mark of the first half.
ƵUƵs Taz Sherman sliced down the lane, only to have his layup attempt blocked by the JahawksƵ Jalen Wilson.
An irate Sherman felt he was fouled on the drive, and his protest quickly drew a technical foul call from official Doug Sirmons.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins immediately marched out to midcourt to voice his displeasure and take up for Sherman.
Sirmons wasted little time hitting the ƵU coach with one and then two Ts of his own, sending Huggins to the locker room with an ejection.
ƵIƵm going to stand up for my guys,Ƶ stated West VirginiaƵs coach. ƵI have never not stood up for my guys.Ƶ
It was the first time Huggins has been tossed from a game since the 2018-19 season.
ƵHe was definitely trying to defend us. ThatƵs what heƵs done all year,Ƶ added Mountaineer senior guard Sean McNeil when asked about the technical. ƵItƵs not my place to say whether the calls were right or wrong. My job is to play.
ƵThe tech sequence was early. We had a lot of time left to play. We just couldnƵt get it done.Ƶ
With or without Huggins, West Virginia had few answers for the sixth-ranked Jayhawks (26-6), who cruised to an 87-63 victory and thus earned a spot in FridayƵs semifinal against TCU (20-11).
Kansas led 41-19 at halftime, which was a season low for ƵU in terms of first-half points.
Sherman and McNeil, who normally combine to average over 30 points per game, each was scoreless in the first 20 minutes against the Jayhawks, as they were 0 of 12 from the field between them.
Ƶ a team, West Virginia made just five of 31 shots (16.1%) in the first period, and its starting five mustered only two points in the opening half.
ƵComing off the way I played yesterday, (the Jayhawks) were dialed in,Ƶ said McNeil, who had 21 points in WednesdayƵs first-round win over Kansas State but was limited to just three points on a one-of-nine shooting performance against KU. ƵThe looks I got were contested, I thought, and I just didnƵt hit them today. It was one of those days.Ƶ
Things improved a bit for the Mountaineers offensively in the second half (44 points on 14 of 27 shooting), but they were never good enough to put a serious scare into Kansas.
The Jayhawks, who were the Big 12 TourneyƵs No.1 seed compared to the No. 9 seed for ƵU, outrebounded West Virginia 48-27 and had a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint.
The Mountaineers finished with two players scoring in double figures, as Malik Curry had a game-high 19 points and Sherman chipped in 10, all in the second half.
ƵWhen my time is called, I go into the game and try to contribute and help the team as best I,Ƶ noted Curry, who reached double figures in the scoring column in each of the last six games.
West Virginia (16-17) has probably seen its season come to an end. The NIT and CBI postseason tournaments are possible, even for a team with a losing record, but they appear unlikely for the Mountaineers this year.
A few days ago, we looked at some of West VirginiaƵs major needed areas of improvement on offense if the 2022 season is to be appreciably better than the results of the 2021 campaign.
Today, itƵs the defenseƵs turn in the spotlight, and although the jumps donƵt need to be as big as those required on offense, there are still some areas that have to see upgrades.
Playmaking Bandits: At Troy, Neal Brown had defenses built around the bandit position.
Playing either on the line of scrimmage at one end of the defensive front, or as a second inside linebacker off the ball to give the defense an entirely different look, the bandit is a hybrid defender that does a bit of everything from rushing the passer to run fitting in the middle of the defense to dropping out into short zone pass defense.
At Troy, Hunter Reese became BrownƵs quintessential bandit, following in the footsteps of Sam Lebbie. At West Virginia, such a player has yet to be identified.
VanDarius Cowan, brought in as a transfer, had the most natural athletic skill to fit the needs of the position but continued assignment busts made him a hit or miss proposition at the spot.
Jared Bartlett, backing up and sometimes starting in front of the erratic Cowan, has progressed respectably, recording 32 tackles this year, but with just one tackle for loss and no sacks this year, didnƵt produce the number of impact plays the spot demands.
West Virginia has recruited multiple prospects for the position last year and this, but to date has not found the one player who can stay on the field, no matter the assignment, and be a difference-maker in all phases.
Whether Bartlett or one of the holdovers or new recruits can fill the bill remains to be seen, but for West VirginiaƵs defense to function the way TroyƵs did in wins over LSU and Nebraska, a dominant, multi-tasking bandit has to be found.
Safety Dance: Perhaps ƵreplacementƵ rather than ƵimprovementƵ is the key word here, but ƵU must replace Alonzo Addae, Sean Mahone and Scottie Young at its free, cat and spear safety positions.
Add in outgoing transfer Jackie Matthews, who sometimes slotted in at the spear, and the Mountaineers face a huge rebuild at the position.
Also needed is more consistent play from the group, especially in defending deep balls and reading and reacting.
Mahone was the best of the three overall, but at times there were concerning breakdowns in coverage and run support.
ƵU also didnƵt get the best synergy it hoped for in using the cat and free interchangeably at times, or as the pair of high safeties in two-deep zone looks.
If nothing else, West Virginia must be flexible in its positioning and pass coverage options, with the same personnel able to execute at different spots, in order to be successful, and that wasnƵt always the case.
Generating big plays and turnovers is the other area in which ƵUƵs safeties must improve in 2022.
Sean Mahone had the groupƵs only two picks in 2021, with Addae collecting its only fumble recovery, leaving ƵU 79th nationally in the former category and 87th in the latter.
Like the bandit spot, these are playmaking positions in the West Virginia defensive scheme, and it needs dynamic, game-changing plays from them in order to have success.
Depth at Cornerback: While versatility is clearly one of the cornerstones of West VirginiaƵs defense, the flip side is that all of the shuffling between the secondary positions on defense might have contributed to some of the groupƵs inconsistency in 2021.
Again, play was good overall, but with transfers and first-time starters manning the positions after Nicktroy Fortune was lost for the season, those players probably could have benefited from minimal switching.
Injuries contributed heavily to the need to shuffle players from week to week, and thatƵs obviously something that canƵt be controlled, but a key priority this spring Ƶ and in the search of the transfer portal Ƶ will be the identification of at least four players who can stick at the corner spots and be counted on no matter the assignment.
ItƵs not an easy one, but itƵs needed to help West Virginia limit big plays and get off the field earlier in drives.
In todayƵs college football world, transfers are becoming a normal part of the landscape, but among all those players heading to new locales, there is a much smaller percentage who will fill critical roles for their new teams.
One of those in the West Virginia camp is Mountain State native Doug Nester, who announced his transfer from Virginia Tech to ƵU on Christmas Day, 2020.
While many transfers made a move to search for a chance to see game action that hadnƵt previously presented itself yet, Nester wasnƵt in that category, having started in 18 of the 20 games he played as a Hokie. That experience gives him an edge in becoming the line's leader.
The importance of that canƵt be understated. While West VirginiaƵs offensive front improved from the 2019 season to that of 2020, there are just as many rungs to climb in 2021. The Mountaineers averaged just 3.8 yards per rush in 2020, and even when sacks are eliminated from the rushing total, the Mountaineers still fell short of the four yards per carry baseline, settling at 3.96.
ƵU did yield just two sacks per game last year, but pressure led to fewer chances to go downfield and shorter gains on completions, with the result that the Mountaineers were 94th nationally (out of 127 teams) in passing yards per completion last season.
Not all of that is on the offensive line, of course, but a cleaner pocket and a few more rushing lanes will do wonders for the Mountaineer attack. While ƵU does return sometime starters Zach Frazier, James Gmiter and Brandon Yates this season, better and more consistent play remains a goal still to be reached.
For Nester, the question is, where does he fit in? At Tech, he saw the majority of his action at guard, but his 6-foot-7, 321-pound frame, coupled with what looks to be good footwork and solid initial steps, could slot him at right tackle for the Mountaineers.
Offensive line coach Matt Moore, following head coach Neal BrownƵs search for versatility, worked Nester at both guard and tackle spots during the spring, and he received good reviews at both. With the tackle positions being trouble spots at times in the past, the projection from here is that Nester will wind up on the outside, and likely start the season at the right tackle spot, which he played during his high school career at Spring Valley High School.
While the improvement of every offensive lineman is critical for the upcoming 2021 season, NesterƵs performance, play and landing spot are key factors to the line's improvement. His Division I experience, totaling nearly 1,000 game snaps, gives him a great base to build upon, but for ƵU to have a successful season, he has to become not just a starter, but an anchor up front. While Gmiter has 12 starts in 20 games in his college career, Frazier has just 10 games on his resume from a year ago, while Yates has an identical number. That trio has the ability to continue to improve and come together to advance the offensive line, but much more is needed, and Nester is being counted on to do so.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Ƶ Following the awarding of a scholarship to defensive back Malachi Ruffin on Monday, West Virginia head football coach Neal Brown noted that more such feel-good, but well-earned, moments were on the way. That played out on Wednesday when walk-on wide receiver Graeson Malashevich joined Ruffin on the scholarship list.
MalashevichƵs family was on hand in the Puskar Center to announce the scholarship.
The recipient of the 2021 Tommy Nickolich Award, presented by the Blue & Gold News to the walk-on who has distinguished himself via his attitude and work ethic, Malashevich elbowed his way onto the field early in his career, earning the starting holding spot after redshirting in his initial season at ƵU in 2019. He has been the very definition of the well-rounded student athlete, earning first-team spots on the Academic All-Big 12 squads in his first two seasons. He also nabbed one of this springƵs Iron Mountaineer Awards, presented to those who excel in offseason strength programs.
Participating mostly as a holder in 2020, Malashevich also had one reception for 30 yards and one punt return for five yards, while continuing to work toward more playing time in those two roles this year.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Ƶ The quarterback is always the focus of attention on the football field.