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For the third time in three seasons, the West Virginia Mountaineers must replace their secondary. In 2015, they lost Daryl Worley and Terrel Chestnut and replaced them with Rasul Douglas and Maurice Fleming. Now the Mountaineers must once again replace high level talent at cornerback.
2016 Exodus
Rasul Douglas led the nation with eight interceptions in 2016. His play, after coming to West Virginia from Nassau Community College, garnered him First Team All Big 12 honors. Douglas proved to be a do-it-all corner, able to blitz off the edge, shade number one receivers and play tough and physical in the run game.
Maurice Fleming was a graduate transfer from Iowa who saw increased playing time and proved to be a valuable member of the secondary. Fleming totaled 48 tackles to go along with 9 pass breakups and a forced fumble.
Antonio Crawford came to West Virginia from the Miami Hurricanes and helped provide solid starting and backup experience. As a senior, Crawford had 22 tackles including two TFL.
2017 West Virginia Cornerbacks
| Player | Year | 2016 Stats | Height / Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Year | 2016 Stats | Height / Weight |
| Mike Daniels Jr | Sr | No Stats | 5-11 / 204 |
| Elijah Battle | Sr | 23 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD | 6-0 / 193 |
| Corey Winfield | R-Sr | 41 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 4 PD | 6-1 / 198 |
| Jordan Adams | R-So | no stats | 5-11 / 178 |
| Hakeem Bailey | R-So | 40 tackles, 5 INT, 9 PD | 6-0 / 193 |
| Fontez Davis | R-So | 36 tackles, 8 PD, 1 FF, 1 INT (TD) | 5-11 / 188 |
| Kevin Williams | R-So | no stats | 6-0 / 198 |
| Jake Long | R-Fr | no stats | 5-11 / 190 |
| Sean Mahone | R-Fr | DNP (Redshirt) | 6-0 / 199 |
| Jacquez Adams | R-Fr | DNP (Redshirt) | 5-11 / 170 |
| Eli Godfrey | Fr | DNP (High School) | 5-10 / 180 |
Elijah Battle
Battle is one of two seniors on the team with game experience. Battle came to the Mountaineers from Dodge City C.C. During his time at Dodge City, Battle broke up 19 passes and picked off two passes. Last year as a Mountaineer, Battle worked his way to starting corner, finishing with three starts.
Corey Winfield
Winfield comes to the Mountaineer from their old rival, the Syracuse Orangemen. At Syracuse, Winfield produced 41 tackles, an interception and 4 pass breakups. Winfield is a hero at Syracuse and not for his on-field actions. In April 2016, a teammate, Naesean Howard went on an unprompted rage, stabbing Chauncey Scissum near his jaw. Winfield, along with other Syracuse players intervened. Winfield suffered multiple stab wounds in the arms, chest and ribs.
Hakeem Bailey
As seems to be the case with the Mountaineers, when you need to constantly replace senior players, you look at the junior colleges. Bailey comes to the Mountaineers from Iowa Western C.C. Bailey was singled-out by defensive coordinator Tony Gibson as a guy “who keeps making plays”.
Jordan Adams
Adams came to West Virginia in 2015 as a member of their signing class and has slowly been working his way up the depth chart. Redshirting in 2015, Adams played sparingly last year but did see time on special teams and in the Baylor game last year.
Fontez Davis
Another JUCO transfer, Davis comes to the Mountaineers after redshirting one year and playing only one year at Butler C.C. At Butler, Davis was highly productive, breaking up eight passes while picking off one pass, which he took to the house for a touchdown.