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MORGANTOWN -- Veteran defensive coordinator Vic Koenning may not be ready to tip his hand on what his first Mountaineer defense will look like when it takes to the artificial surface at Milan Puskar Stadium to take on James Madison.
But the first-year assistant at West Virginia could end up having that decision made for him.
"There's a lot more linebackers here and not as many (defensive) linemen," Koenning said. "We are trying to use the guys on our team with what best suits them. There are a whole lot of guys that are from 225 to 235, and there's not enough defensive linemen."
A situation that could be rectified by as early as this summer as first-year coach Neal Brown and his staff have a few unused scholarships that could be utilized to bring some 'defensive beef' to the Mountaineers.
The lack of defensive line depth has caused Koenning and defensive line coach Jordan Lesley to take a look at some younger players and one player -- redshirt senior Quondarius Qualls -- who missed the entire 2018 campaign.
"Well, at defensive end, we're working (redshirt sophomore transfer) Taijh Alston, (redshirt junior) Jeffery Pooler Jr., Quondarius Qualls, who is a position move, but I think it's better for him, (redshirt freshman) Tavis Lee, who has, in four days, made some strides; he's gotten a lot better, and (redshirt sophomore) Sam Cookman," Lesley said.
"At nose, we're working (junior) Darius Stills, who, I think, so far has been one of the most impressive. He's done a great job, but right on his heels is (redshirt senior) Brenon Thrift, who I have been happy with. Making strides behind him is (redshirt freshman) Tyrese Allen, who is also moving in our scheme from tackle to nose. I think that fits his skill set a little better.
"At three, there's primarily three guys: (senior) Reese Donahue, (sophomore) Dante Stills, who has done a great job so far, and (redshirt senior) Stone Wolfley. So, those are the guys, primarily, we are working at those three positions - not necessarily in that order. When we got into pads, I started mixing and matching who is running with the two's and with the one's and then the three's in with the one's, down with the two's and vice versa. I try to always get all three of those groups against good-on-good work, one's with the (offensive) line, because I want to see them versus our best in who is ready to make plays."
Qualls, who assisted on one tackle in WVU's loss to Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl, missed the first 11 games of the season while recovering from a knee injury suffered during spring practice.
The Northwest Mississippi Community College transfer saw action in 12 games as a junior - all at linebacker - finishing with 10 tackles, including assisting on a sack and seven unassisted tackles.
Lee, who played his high school football for head coach Dave Walker at Martinsburg, is coming off of a redshirt year which saw the Huff Award winner earn Scout Team champion once - Texas Tech.
As a senior for the Bulldogs, Lee was part of a prevent unit that limited the opposition's offense to only 9.5 points and 161 total yards per game, forcing 30 turnovers and sacking the quarterback 30 times - 6.5 by Lee.
It is his and the other linemen's versatility that has Koenning and Lindsay feeling a little more comfortable heading into the latter stages of the spring.
"I think one of the best things about our defense is we can interchange guys," continued Lindsay. "So, where you have a tackle that primarily plays a three technique maybe has a little knack for playing a five technique in some situations.
"It gives you a lot of flexibility."