West Virginia Football: Top Ten Plays Of 2015 - Number One

The play:

2nd and 10 at OKLA 38 (5:51 - 1st) Baker Mayfield pass incomplete to Dede Westbrook

The setup:

West Virginia traveled to Norman, Oklahoma to open the 2015 Big 12 conference schedule. After winning three straight non-conference games, West Virginia was riding high. The game opened with three straight punts, two by WVU and one by Oklahoma.

Oklahoma scored a touchdown on their second possession of the game when Baker Mayfield found Mark Andrews for a 17-yard touchdown. Following a Skyler Howard interception, Oklahoma took over at their own 38. On first and ten, Samaje Perine was stopped for no gain. On 2nd-and-ten, Baker Mayfield took a shotgun snap and dropped back three steps, looking to his left for wide receiver Dede Westbrook.

Westbrook took off at the start of the play and gave cornerback Daryl Worley a small stutter step. This move caused Worley to break down momentarily and gave Westbrook a chance to get past Worley. Mayfield fired a rainbow to the left sideline. Westbrook had a good yard on Worley and could have taken this throw to the house.

Except Karl Joseph intervened. And I don't mean got a hand in on the play. Karl Joseph D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-E-D Westbrook. I'm not even sure destroyed is the right word. Annihilated? Pulverized? Karl Joseph drifts back from the left hash working his way towards the center of the field and begins to break on the ball when Mayfield decides to throw to Westbrook. He times his speed and hit so perfectly. He rocks Westbrook and jars the football loose.

Why it's my top play:

I mean come on. When you close your eyes and think about one play from the 2015 season, it has to be this play, right? The single visual of Karl Joseph, closing in on a receiver a full speed and delivering a hit so vicious, so authentic, so powerful that he lifts the receiver off the ground and knocks him sideways. That play embodies Karl Joseph.

When the play starts, Joseph is approximately at the 50 yard line and he is drifting towards the center of the field to take away the middle. He disappears off screen but he is running away from the direction the ball is about to be thrown in. The next time he appears on the screen, he is on the West Virginia 35 outside of the hash marks and he has already zeroed in on Dede Westbrook. Westbrook is at the 41 and Karl is a good six yards inside of Westbrook. Karl has already figured out where Westbrook is going to be when he catches the ball.

They say great baseball outfielders can determine where a baseball will land once its hit. They don't track the ball but run to a destination then wait for the ball to get there. Karl Joseph has that same exact ability to determine where Westbrook will ultimately be and runs through that spot instead of tracking Westbrook and attempting to break on the ball. Karl already knows, "I'm destroying the receiver".

Enjoy a few slo-mo animated gifs for your viewing pleasure before watching the video in real time.

Video:

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