The West Virginia Mountaineers surrendered 263.3 passing yards per game in 2013. The Mountaineers’ defense finished 106th overall in pass defense. It doesn’t get much worse...unless the team loses its top cornerback. That’s exactly what the Mountaineers are facing as the 2014 season looms.
According to WV Metro News, senior cornerback Ishmael “Icky” Banks “is dealing with an academic eligibility issue that could sideline him this season.”
Banks has played in 36 games the past three seasons and started every game in 2013. He’s the leader of the secondary and a calming influence on the younger players at the position.
“I’m still learning from him,” sophomre Daryl Worley to Metro News two weeks ago. “There’s times when I feel myself getting overwhelmed and angry with myself and he can calm me down.”
With Banks potentially out of the lineup, junior Terrell Chestnut will likely slide into the starting role opposite Worley. It’s also an opportunity for four-star recruit and crown jewel of WVU’s 2014 recruiting class, Dravon Henry (Aliquippa, Penn./Aliquippa) to earn early playing time.
