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MORGANTOWN - The tone of Neal Brown's voice truly said it all.
West Virginia University's football coach sat in the Puskar Center team room, announcing the departure of defensive extraordinaire Akheem Mesidor, and the atmosphere had the effects of a funeral, not just a weekly press conference.
He said he wasn't angry, he said he wasn't upset, but intertwined within his words was a tremendous frustration -- not at Mesidor, but at the situation and the way of doing business in college football.
Sure, it's a tremendous loss, given both the junior's versatility and menacing presence on the field. But does Mesidor's departure prioritize adding a new defensive lineman via the transfer portal?
"There's some guys that are playing that I think it's too early to tell," Brown said Saturday. "I'll be able to tell you after 15 practices."
The Mountaineers concluded their sixth practice of the spring on Saturday. Mesidor, who announced his departure from the program on Thursday, had been held out of practice as he recovered from injury, allowing for others to see an increase in reps.
With Taijh Alston and Dante Stills both returning to their starting roles from a season ago, Mesidor creates the only void for defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley and company to fill. Luckily for them, the team's depth on the defensive line has grown exponentially in recent years.
Still, because of Mesidor's role as an inside guy who could kick out and play on the edge, whoever is named the heir apparent could have an effect on the overall identity of the group.
Jordan Jefferson returns as the leading reserve on the defensive line, tallying a fourth-best 17 tackles (with four being for loss) last season. Along with redshirt freshman Hammond Russell, Jefferson is the type of player who comes to mind when thinking of the prototypical nose tackle: a big mauler type that moves people, not the other way around.
"We've been playing with more of a quick front, and that's hurt us some when we've played against these teams that are really big and have ran the ball well," Brown said. "Defensively, one of the things we've got to get better at is we've got to be better at playing against the run against the best teams in our league. Against the middle to the bottom, we've played pretty well against the run. We've got to play the run better against the best teams. Those bigger bodies, JJ and Hammond, are going to give us that opportunity."
But if the Mountaineers wanted to go with somebody a bit leaner to provide speed off the edge, someone like redshirt sophomore Taurus Simmons could be an excellent fit. Clocking in just shy of 240 pounds, he played a big role on special teams last season and is continuing to develop.
Sean Martin, from Bluefield, played more than 200 snaps on defense last season, collecting 16 tackles. Edward Vesterinen, who finished with seven tackles, has been working through an injury during camp.
In all, there are 10 players for the coaches to choose from, including five in either their first or second season.
"The numbers there are fine, we've just got to make sure that these guys continue to raise their game," Brown said. "I don't think it's a must where we have to go back and go out and get a D-lineman period, I think it's a wait and see on it."