2018 Position Preview: Cornerbacks

The 2018 edition of the Mountaineer cornerbacks have a ton of potential with all the talent they have brought in the last couple of years.  Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson has had to patch up the secondary a couple of times the last few years, but it didn’t mean that they didn’t have talent waiting on the sidelines.

The coaching staff has done a great job at developing talent over the years, and this could be another year in the secondary where stars emerge. What this group is lacking is experience, but for most of these players they have been around a couple years.

Coming into fall practice there was a lot of questions among this unit.

Starters:

Right Cornerback Derrek Pitts (6’0” 180-lbs) Sophomore

Derrek was recruited as a safety and added depth at Bandit last season along with playing on special teams. During spring practice, he was moved to corner and earned the spot.

Pitts will be a much needed physical presence on the outside that should be able to slow receivers down.

Left Cornerback Hakeem Bailey (6’0” 190-lbs) Redshirt Junior

Bailey appeared at times to be the Mountaineers top corner in 2017, but in his first year in the program struggled to keep at the top of the depth chart.

The second year for defensive backs under defensive coordinator Tony Gibson’s 3-3-5 scheme has had proven success with the likes of Daryl Worley, Rasul Douglas and Terrel Chestnut. All the experience Bailey received last season and offseason might be a staple in the secondary.

Backups:

Right Cornerback Keith Washington (6’0” 172-lbs) Redshirt Junior

Coming from Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Keith can immediately make an impact much like Hakeem Bailey did last season.

He had 20 tackles a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two interceptions and five pass breakups last season for Copiah-Lincoln.

Left Cornerback Jake Long (5’11” 194-lbs) Redshirt Sophomore

Jake was turning heads in fall camp and looked like he was going to have a bigger role in the secondary this season, till he suffered a wrist injury in practice. His early time table to return is early to mid November.

Barry Moreland (5’11” 190-lbs) Redshirt Junior

Barry was redshirted last year after coming from Central Lakes College. There he played in 12 games at defensive back and finished the season with 39 tackles, including 22 solo stops, five tackles for loss, eight pass breakups and five interceptions.

Sean Mahone (5’11” 200-lbs) Redshirt Sophomore

Sean was primarily used on special teams last season, and did see some playing time late in the season.

This is Sean’s third year as a Mountaineer and as one of the best defensive backs coming out of the state of Ohio in 2016, he will be making a push to get playing time this fall.

Jordan Adams (6’0” 176-lbs) Redshirt Junior

Jordan was one of the best players coming out of Maryland in 2015, but hasn’t been able to get on the field since he has been in Morgantown. He is still a player to watch out for, because of his talent, but can he put it all together to get onto the field.