MORGANTOWN – Rich Rodriguez’s offense gets a bulk of the attention from those outside West Virginia, but the truth is, his 2025 Mountaineers will go only as far as his defense can take them.
To coordinate that unit, Rodriguez hired Zac Alley away from Oklahoma.
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and a 2014 graduate of Clemson University, Alley has his work cut out for him in his first season at West Virginia. The Mountaineers’ defense returns just four players who started games for WVU last year.
Those veterans are safety K.K. Tarnue (five starts), linebacker Reid Carrico (three starts), defensive lineman Edward Vesterinen (two starts) and defensive lineman Asani Redwood (one start). This season's defense features 36 newcomers who weren’t even on the 2024 team.
Despite all that, Alley isn’t discouraged by what he has on hand as West Virginia’s preseason camp gets underway.
“We’re certainly more talented than we were in the spring,†said Alley, as his defense added 17 of those newcomers this summer. “Just as a whole, we’ve developed players who were here. They went through a great summer conditioning program, and obviously, [the coaches] got to work with them in the summer, which helps a lot. Then we brought in a lot of new guys to compete.
“No job has been earned yet, and no job is safe. Everybody is kind of mixing in between the ones, twos and threes right now to see who can help us and who can’t,†the defensive coordinator explained after Thursday’s practice session, which was Day Two of preseason camp.
The Mountaineers have until Aug. 30 before their defense has to be game-ready, but the preparations are ramping up as camp kicks into gear. Turnovers are a big part of what Alley emphasizes.
“We have a standard every practice,†said WVU’s defensive coordinator, who previously worked with Rodriguez at both Louisiana-Monroe (2021) and Jacksonville State (2022-23). “One thing we try to do is get three or more turnovers every practice. We hold them accountable to that. Generally, if you get three-plus turnovers a game throughout the season, you’re probably going to be top 10 in the country come the end of it. We always try to emphasize that.â€
Last season, when West Virginia finished with a 6-7 record under coach Neal Brown, the Mountaineers had a turnover margin of minus-0.62, which was tied for 111th out of the 133 FBS teams.
“You win the turnover margin, it’s the No. 1 indicator of winning,†Alley said.
Alley not only serves as WVU’s defensive coordinator, but he’s also directly in charge of the linebackers.
“We’ve got really good competition right now, which helps,†the coach said of his position group. “We brought in a couple of guys who we think can help. We also have some freshmen, and even some of the walk-ons, who are good players. I think that is making everyone get better because they’re watching the other guys play well.â€
Preseason camp is a matter of learning and progressing.
“Today was a lot better than the other day in terms of communicating and talking,†Alley said of his linebackers. “I told them, it’s on you. If you don’t get the check to the safety, that’s on you. If the defense is lined up wrong, that’s your fault. Everything is on us as linebackers.
“We’re still learning, and we have a ways to go, but thankfully we have a lot of practices left,†Alley concluded.
