Cornerbacks continue to be a position of emphasis for West Virginia University football head coach Neal Brown and his staff on a yearly basis, and this year’s list of corners includes a variety of newcomers.
In today’s defensive edition of Gold and Blue Nation’s roster review series, we take a look at secondary coach ShaDon Brown’s cornerbacks.
Last week, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic predicted that Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. will make the team’s 53-man roster at the end of the summer. Bishop Jr. signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Steelers this spring after a stellar season at WVU in which he led the nation in pass breakups in his first and only year in Morgantown.
Bishop Jr.’s success is widely documented and highly revered by WVU fans, but now, everyone is wondering who the next successful veteran transfer will be.
This year, all signs point toward Northwestern transfer cornerback Garnett Hollis Jr.
Hollis Jr. saw limited action in his first two seasons in Evanston in 2020-2021 before breaking out in 2022 when he recorded an interception and two forced fumbles. Last year, as a senior and a member of the team’s leadership council, he logged another interception and three passes defended in 13 appearances.
He was recently placed on the Athlon Sports All-Big 12 Fourth Team.
Junior cornerback Jacolby Spells is the most experienced returning WVU cornerback. Spells appeared in 21 games in his first two seasons in Morgantown, and he has recorded 21 total tackles and two passes defended as a Mountaineer.
He most notably returned a 27-yard pick-six to secure the Mountaineers’ victory over Virginia Tech in the 2022 Black Diamond Trophy Game.
Former Duquesne cornerback Ayden Garnes is familiar with Milan Puskar Stadium. Garnes played there last year with Duquesne.
In September, the 6-foot, 170-pound corner tallied three tackles and a pass deflection in Duquesne’s 56-17 loss to the Mountaineers in Morgantown.
“[He is] a guy we really got a good look at going back to last year,” defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said. “He has a skillset we need. He’s long. He can really run. [He] has a knack — can play the ball in the air.”
Over the past two seasons with the Dukes, the Philadelphia native recorded 78 tackles, three pass breakups and four interceptions. He also blocked a kick in 2022 as a redshirt freshman, and he started all 12 games last season.
In the Gold-Blue Spring Game, he intercepted one of Nicco Marchiol’s passes in the first half.
Colorado State transfer TJ Crandall may be at his second Division I school, but he still has a lot of eligibility remaining.
Crandall, a 6-foot, 180-pound sophomore cornerback from Sammamish, Washington, has just one season of college football experience. In his true freshman season at Colorado State last fall, he tallied 19 total tackles and one tackle for loss. He also snatched one interception and logged a pair of pass breakups in 10 games
“[He] can really, really run,” Lesley said. “Corner was a spot of emphasis for us, and speed and playing the ball in the air [were] really the top two things. I think we’ve gotten faster with the new additions.”
This spring, the sophomore cornerback dealt with a “nagging” leg injury, per head coach Neal Brown, but he is expected to be ready to go for fall camp.
Visit GoldAndBlueNation.com for daily roster analysis this week. All stories can also be viewed on the free Gold and Blue Nation app, which is available for download on Apple and Android devices.
