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West Virginia Preview: Two Key Players to Watch on the Mountaineer Defense

Two Mountaineers to look out for when OSU’s offense is on the field.

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Earlier I covered two players to watch on the West Virginia offense as Oklahoma State gets set to face off with the Mountaineers this weekend. Now it’s time to take a look at two players on the WVU defense.

David Long Jr. | LB | 5-11, 221 | R-Jr.

The redshirt junior leads the team in total tackles with 81, tackles for loss with 18 and sacks with 7. At 5-11, 221 pounds, he’s on the smaller side for a linebacker, but his speed and physicality make him the perfect fit in Tony Gibson’s 3-3-5 scheme. At the Will linebacker spot, he will normally be lined up to the boundary side of the field as a traditional linebacker or on the line of scrimmage as a stand up defensive end.

Long has used his speed and strength to cause havoc for opposing offensive lineman as a pass rusher.


In addition, he’s also been solid dropping into coverage and has made several plays defending the pass.


He’s going to be a handful for the Oklahoma State offensive line and the Cowboys may have to keep a running back in to max protect on occasion to slow Long down as a pass rusher.

Dravon Askew-Henry | S | 6-0, 202 | R-Sr.

Henry lines us at the SPUR, or strong safety position, in Gibson’s defense. This position is a type of linebacker/safety hybrid and Askew-Henry fits perfectly into this role. He’s physical enough to come up and play the run, but also has the speed and athleticism to excel in coverage. The SPUR is normally lined up to the wide side of the field.

This is the redshirt senior’s first season at the SPUR position, but he’s made the most of it recording 36 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions. He displayed his ability as a run stopper against Baylor, shown in the clip below.


And, showed off his skills in coverage against Iowa State.


Taylor Cornelius will need to keep an eye out for Askew-Henry this weekend as he is normally all over the field looking to force a big turnover for this Mountaineer defense.

 

 

 

 

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