DL Will LeBlanc

The defensive line is beat up right now, so LeBlanc got some extended playing time, logging 20+ snaps for the first time this season, and it resulted in his best game as a Mountaineer. He came up with a pair of tackles, one defensive stop (blew up the RB right at the line of scrimmage), and had one pressure on the day. Regardless of where Corey McIntyre Jr. is health-wise, LeBlanc definitely needs to be involved.

LB Miles Khatri

Khatri moved from nickel/sam to linebacker, as we reported in pregame, and he looked like a completely different player. He played faster, more physically, and helped stuff the run. It just seems like a more natural fit for him, and that's because he played the position in high school. Ben Cutter and Isaiah Patterson are the top two, and Cam Torbor will continue to get reps because of his upside, but Khatri has to be in the mix.

N/S Maliek Hawkins

West Virginia has tried so many things in the back end, and that includes moving guys around. Hawkins can play any of the three safety positions and can even kick out to corner if necessary. Hawkins has great length, but he has really good coverage skills and can be a factor in the blitz game. Before the TCU game, he hadn't played on defense since Week 2 against UT Martin, but he was in on that final possession on Saturday. More opportunities are going to come his way.

S Jacob Bradford

The former four-star and LSU transfer saw a ton of snaps this week, 68 to be exact. He saw 15 snaps last week against Cincinnati, so it's pretty clear that he is starting to earn the trust of the coaching staff. With Matt Sieg banged up and the secondary as a whole just not playing well, Bradford will see the field more. He did some positive things against the Frogs and could turn out to be part of the solution in the back end.

S JaCorey Thomas

The Georgia transfer did not play against TCU and was not on the team's availability report, so I'm assuming this was just a coach's decision not to have him on the field. He's played pretty well in his first three games as a Mountaineer, giving up just two catches for 12 yards, earning a PFF grade of 72.9. With two weeks to take in more information and further understand the defense, he should be on the field a ton in the final four games.