MORGANTOWN -- Forty-five. That's the total number of tackles returning to West Virginia's football defense in 2025.

West Virginia’s defensive line was anticipated to be a strength in the 2022 season with returning veterans such as Dante Stills, Taijh Alston and Jordan Jefferson, along with valuable backups like Sean Martin and Jalen Thornton, set to anchor the Mountaineer front. Add in transfer newcomers Mike Lockhart and Zeiqui Lawton, and the WVU defensive trench roster looked quite stout.

That list, though, overlooks one player who has been steadily working his way into the rotation — sophomore Edward Vesterinen.

A native of Helsinki, Finland, Vesterinen is one of the group of overseas players who have followed a widening path to the U.S. to play the American version of football, and along with linebacker Jairo Faverus has been the most adept at picking up the intricacies of the game while forging a role for himself on the field.

Faverus has worked through a position change from safety and an injury recovery to become a valuable special teams performer this year, but Vesterinen has pushed his way into a noticeable backup role on plays from scrimmage.

After completing a prep career in which he played for the Helsinki Roosters, earning lineman of the year honors in 2019 and a spot on the Finnish Senior national team, Vesterinen came to WVU in 2020 and promptly dove into learning the many intricacies of advanced football. The Covid year of 2020 and the following offseason were the very definition of developmental periods for him.

“The game had to slow down for him, and he had to get stronger,” said defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley of Vesterinen, listing a pair of tasks that most newcomers to the college game face.

Head coach Neal Brown noted the learning curve, an additional task for many overseas players, was attacked well by the WVU and Big 12 Academic Honor Roll member.

“He’s been intentional about learning football,” Brown said, employing one of his favorite terms in praising Vesterinen’s work over the past two years. “It was obviously new to him, and he’s picked it up faster than our other international players to this point.”

Vesterinen has done that without a lot of verbal fanfare – another difference that separates him from more vocal teammates.

“Coach Lesley gives him a hard time, because (Eddie) says, �Yes’, �No’ and �Coach’,” said Brown with a smile, while noting that masks the disciplined way in which he works to catch up to those who have far more experience in playing the game than he does.

After wrapping up the 2021 season by earning more playing time in October and November, in which he had seven tackles and a half-sack on 125 defensive plays from scrimmage, he was a noticeable presence on WVU’s four-man defensive front against Pitt in the 2022 opener, coming up with a tackle and battling well against the Panthers’ big six- and seven-man offensive formations. While he’s not the biggest man on the front line (listed, perhaps generously, at 6-foot-3 and 281 pounds), he finds success with the same sort of head-down, grinding performance that marked his game study.

“He just plays super hard. Relentless is a word that I use with him a lot,” said Brown. “He’s a fun guy to coach, and he’s an intelligent guy. He’s gotten progressively better. He plays with low pads, and he uses his hands well.”

Those were attributes that Lesley saw when he was evaluating Vesterinen’s play in Europe, in which he helped his Finnish team to three consecutive European tournament appearances, including a third-pace finish in 2018.

“A lot of time with defensive linemen, when you evaluate them, you see some things that they do well naturally, whether it’s pad level or twitch or their hands. Some guys have a knack for it. That’s one thing in the evaluation that I saw with Eddie,” West Virginia’s defensive coordinator observed. “I’m not really surprised (with the way he has progressed). He has done a great job, and he’ll continue to be a valuable role player for us.”

“He doesn’t stay blocked,” Brown added, referring again to Eddie V.’s effort level. “A lot of defensive linemen, you stop their initial charge, and that’s about it. But he’s relentless, and he has a great second effort. He’s going to continue to play. He has some versatility, because he can play both the one technique and the three technique.”

Vesterinen helped fill a gap created by one absence on the defensive line, that of Jalen Thornton, who missed the Pitt game and could be out for additional contests with an injury. That allowed the Mountaineers to control the Pitt running game, limiting it to 76 net rushing yards and an average of 2.0 per carry. It also allowed them to seamlessly switch between a three- and a four-man defensive front.

“(That helps with) the versatility of playbook and our defensive line,” teammate Jordan Jefferson noted. “We can all play any position on the line. That’s a plus. We can keep offenses guessing and it gives us an answer for what the offense does.”

Vesterinen isn’t going to supplant any of the veterans in front of him yet, but his presence, along with that of backups like Martin, and Thornton when he returns, is also valuable in reducing the wear and tear of the grind of a long season of the starters. The quality of play they can provide, which appears to be a few notches better than that of many previous defensive line backups, could be a deciding factor in a game or two this year. They’ve already proved that value in their readiness for Pitt’s rushing attack.

“We knew they had emphasized it in the offseason, and our guys were prepared for it, and we did pretty well for the most part,” Lesley said.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — West Virginia's 2022-23 non-conference men's basketball season is topped with the 189th renewal of the Backyard Brawl and a trip to play three games in the Phil Knight Legacy in Portland, Oregon, according to the announcement of the schedule on Friday.

The Pitt game, played in Pittsburgh on Nov. 11, is the season's second game, following opening at home on Monday, Nov. 7, against Mount St. Mary's.

WVU has won the last five meetings with the Panthers, including a victory in Morgantown this year.

The Knight Legacy is one of the nation's top preseason showcases, named after the founder of Nike.

The field is made up of Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Oregon State, Portland State, Purdue and Xavier, and it will be held from Nov. 24-27.

Between the Pitt game and the Knight Legacy, WVU plays at home against Morehead State on Nov. 15 and Penn on Nov. 18.

The Mountaineers get no break after the trip to Oregon as they play a yet undetermined opponent on Dec. 4 in the annual Big 12-Big East Battle.

WVU then plays four consecutive games at the Coliseum, facing Navy on Dec. 7, UAB on Dec. 10, Buffalo on Dec. 18 and Stony Brook on Dec. 22.

The Mountaineers will close non-conference play on Saturday, Jan. 28, with an opponent to be determined in the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

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The schedule creates a couple of interesting matchups for WVU Coach Bob Huggins as he could wind up facing two of his most heated rivals.

Of course, his battles with Jamie Dixon and Pitt are legendary, but no more so than his inner-city Cincinnati rivalry with Xavier.

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Huggins talked with his freshmen on Thursday, and none indicated they planned to leave via the transfer portal.

But it's best to take a wait and see attitude on that.

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While no one from the football team has injuries that should keep them out of the season, a number of players will not be able to take part in spring practice.

This is headed by defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor, who is expected to be a star this season but who has an upper body injury that will sideline him for the spring. The D-line is set to pair him and fifth-year senior Dante Stills again.

Neal Brown doesn't want to risk Stills in the spring, so he plans to keep him out of much of the contact drills, much as he did last spring with running back Leddie Brown.

Also out is linebacker Exree Loe, who missed the bowl game but should be ready to fire come summer camp.

Tight end Mike O'Laughlin is rehabbing from knee surgery that sidelined him late last season.

Defensive lineman Edward Vesterinen also will miss the spring with injury.

Safety Nicktroy Fortune, who missed seven games last spring, is expected to be cleared for limited practice.

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The offensive line returns intact, but there will be a cosmetic change as Wyatt Milum will move from right tackle to left, swapping places with Brandon Yates. Milum is left-hander, so he should be more comfortable on the left side.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — With an open date on the schedule, the Mountaineer football team spent this past week not only trying to improve in specific areas but also getting some much-needed rest.

“We put a lot of time in this building to put a product out there that gives us an opportunity to win,” said West Virginia head coach Neal Brown, whose club is 2-4 heading into a Saturday night showdown in Fort Worth, Texas, against TCU (7:30 p.m. on ESPNU). “I don’t think anyone is pleased.

“I know we need play better. We’ve got one game this week, and then we’ll move throughout the schedule,” added WVU’s third-year head coach. “We play really good people from here on out. We need to play better than we did against Baylor (a 45-20 loss on Oct. 9). That’s the whole thing in my mind.”

After facing 3-3 TCU on Saturday, the Mountaineers play successive weeks against Iowa State (4-2), eighth-ranked Oklahoma State (6-0), Kansas State (3-3), Texas (4-3) and Kansas (1-5).

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West Virginia’s weak link offensively has been its difficulty in running the football, as it is last in the Big 12 in rushing offense, averaging 108.3 yards per game on the ground.

“We spent most of our time last week working to get our run game on track,” explained Brown. “It’s been close, but we just haven’t been consistent. That’s the M.O. of our entire football team — we just haven’t been consistent enough.”

While West Virginia's run game has not been a strength, TCU’s normally stout defense has had struggles of its own in stopping the run this season. The Horned Frogs are next-to-last in the Big 12 in rushing defense, allowing an average of 210.0 yards per game. Only one team in the league, Kansas (249.3 ypg), has been worse against the run defensively.

“(TCU) has had some issues against the run this year,” noted Brown. “It’s our hope we can take advantage of that, but we have to go out and execute.

“We’ve got to play better on the offensive line. We’ve got to run through some tackles. We’ve got to do a better job of controlling the extra hat with some things schematically.

“For us to have success, we’ve got to be able to run it, and that’s been a struggle for us,” acknowledged West Virginia’s head coach.

WVU is 9-0 in the Neal Brown era when it nets at least 100 rushing yards per game and 4-15 when held below that mark.

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West Virginia’s leading rusher through its first six games of the 2021 season is Leddie Brown, who is averaging 70.3 yards per game on the ground. WVU’s second-leading rusher is its backup quarterback, Garrett Greene, who is averaging 46.0 per game on the ground.

WVU’s head coach would like to develop a more consistent second-string running back to take some of the load off Leddie.

“Garrett has been our second-leading rusher, and that’s kind of where we’ve been getting carries from,” stated Neal Brown. “Tony (Mathis) was better during the bye week, and we’re going to let him and Justin (Johnson) compete on Tuesday and Wednesday, and whoever is better will get the chance (on Saturday).”

As for Greene, he’s going to continue to rotate with starting quarterback Jarret Doege. Brown said the key for Greene is to not just utilize his legs, but also to better use his arm.

“He’s going to play,” said WVU’s coach of Greene. “How much will be determined by how he goes about this week. There are some opportunities.

“He’s coming off one of his better games against Baylor, but Garrett has to continue to grow. Our receivers have been the most productive piece of our offense, and Garrett has to get them the ball. That’s where he has to show the most growth.”

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Scottie Young had started the Mountaineers’ first five games of the ’21 season at spear safety, but he was unable to make the trip to Baylor because of health reasons.

Young is now practicing again and should be good to go against TCU, though he won’t necessarily start. Jackie Matthews, who started at spur in place of Young at Baylor, is expected to stay in the starting lineup again this week, according to WVU’s head coach.

“Jackie has played really good football for us,” said Brown of the former junior college All-American. “He’s been one of our most consistent performers. He’s aggressive, and I think that’s his natural spot at spear. Scottie is back, though, and he’ll also be out there this week.”

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The Mountaineer coaches spent several days on the road last week evaluating recruits. They saw prospects who have already committed and also those from both the classes of 2022 and 2023 who have yet to make decisions.

West Virginia also spent three days during the open week scrimmaging with some of its younger players.

Brown gave praise for the scrimmage performances of defensive end Taurus Simmons, safety Saint McLeod, linebacker Caden Biser, defensive lineman Edward Vesterinen and safety Davis Mallinger, as well as quarterback Goose Crowder, offensive lineman Tomas Rimac, wide receiver Kaden Prather, tight end Charles Finley and running back Justin Johnson.

At the midway point of the season, Brown seems committed to using seven scholarship true freshmen above the four-game redshirt limit – Prather, Johnson, McLeod, Mallinger, Vesterinen, safety Aubrey Burks and offensive tackle Wyatt Milum.

A yes/no redshirt decision has not been made yet on cornerback Andrew Wilson-Lamp, explained WVU’s coach, who also said the hope is to preserve the redshirt of defensive lineman Hammond Russell and the other seven true freshmen scholarship players.

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