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During a press conference on Friday; Head Coach Dana Holgorsen said that the turnover margin is one of the most important stats out there. Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel has been working hard with the defense to make sure that turnovers are one of the main focus points this year.
Last year the Mountaineers came away 12 interceptions and 204 yards when returning interceptions. Although Robert Sands did leave early for the NFL and with Brandon Hogan also gone the Mountaineers are fortunate that their biggest ball hawk still remains. Keith Tandy had six interceptions last year and the other returning defensive back, Eain Smith had only one interception. Even with Smith getting only one interception this year he looks to improve on that stat by making even more.
Even with the Mountaineers’ secondary returning only two of their interception leaders there is still hope. For example last year Terence Gavin had no interceptions, but standing at 6-3 he could easily snag a few picks this year. With some new faces in the Mountaineers secondary there could also be some freshmen getting into the mix. One freshman factor could be Terrell Chestnut who has had a very impressive high school career. In his senior year he recorded 71 tackles, 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery. Chestnut could very well be the answer the Mountaineers have been looking for in the fumble department.
On the subject of fumbles the Mountaineers struggled last year coming away with only 2 fumble recoveries. As stated before Chestnut could help improve their fumble situation as well as Gavin who last year also had a fumble recovery. However, it is the entire defense that will have to contribute and not just a few players. This could have been one of the issues Holgorsen was talking about during his press conference and Casteel will look to improve on this statistic for the upcoming season.
Everyone will have to focus on the defensive side of the ball if they want to improve their turnover stats. Luckily, they have a few more weeks to practice before they are ready to prove that they can make interceptions and force fumbles. If the defense can then they will please their coach as well as Mountaineer fans across the nation.
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