Newcomer Josh Norwood will be Jack of All Trades for WVU Defense

No Kyzir White? No problem. West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson has been tasked with  finding the next versatile stud in the secondary, and he may have already found that guy in JuCo transfer Josh Norwood.

Like many other talented players of the last few years, Norwood comes to Morgantown via a junior college. After spending two years at Ohio State where he barely saw the field, Norwood transferred to Northwest Mississippi Community College, where he quickly became one of the team’s best overall defenders. He recorded 71 tackles, three tackles for loss and five pass breakups.

His JuCo career caught the collective eye of the West Virginia coaching staff, who brought him to Morgantown. Now that he’s in camp, Gibson knows he needs to find a place for Norwood on the field.

“[Norwood] is going to start. We want the best 11 on the field. I don’t care if we line him up at defensive end or linebacker” Gibson said jokingly. “He’s going to play a bunch. If we have to defend 80 snaps a game, I’d be shocked if he’s not in on 65 of them.”

The coaching staff recently announced that they have moved him down from safety to corner, thanks to a lack of depth at corner and too much depth at safety. At times, Norwood could line up at free safety or strong safety, but the coaching staff wants to see him to excel at corner.

Ultimately, he’s a versatile piece that Gibson can slide up or down throughout the defense, regardless of the position he’s slotted at.

Although he only had one interception a year ago, Norwood has all the tools to become a lockdown corner and a ball-hawking safety. Don’t be surprised if Norwood becomes the most valuable player in the secondary by season’s end.