Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Persistence Helps Alston Find a Home At WVU
August 16, 2019 11:56 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In the end, persistence eventually won.
Taijh Alston was in the sights of former West Virginia defensive line coach Bruce Tall two years ago when he was a standout two-way performer at Union Pines High in Cameron, North Carolina, but Alston chose to stay close to home and attend East Carolina.
Then a torn meniscus in his right knee during his true freshman season there forced him to do a little heavy thinking.
Is this the right place for me?
Can I grow as a person being around the same people I've been around my entire life?
Do I need to go someplace different and seek the depths of my own water?
Those were some of the thoughts going through Alston's mind when he ultimately decided to transfer from East Carolina.
"I just felt the way the season was going, it wasn't a good fit for me so I felt like I should leave, and that's what I did," he explained.
In order to get where he wanted to go, Alston headed farther south with the birds - to Wesson, Mississippi, to play at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
It was there where he really blossomed. Taijh had to because he was on his own for really the first time in his life. It was time to become a man.
"I was still young at the time and everybody back home felt like I was going to end up coming back, but I just stayed strong and fought through it," Alston said.
He sure did.
During his one season at Copiah-Lincoln in 2018, Alston produced seven sacks and 15 tackles for losses to earn All-Mississippi juco honors. Once again Tall came calling, and this time Alston was better prepared to listen.
"When I left juco I knew West Virginia was the place for me," he said. "When I was going through my recruiting process again I kept saying to myself 'I'm going to go to West Virginia if they offer me one more time.'"
They did and Alston immediately committed – to a coaching staff that wasn't going to coach him. He was going to be playing for Neal Brown's coaching staff at West Virginia instead.
"They left a little bit after I committed, and it was a shock," Alston admitted. "I knew the chances that a different coach could be here because it's a business, so I just felt like I had to fulfill my role and do my job."
As was the case with a number of other Mountaineer recruits that Brown had inherited, Alston said he was also recruited by Brown's guys at Troy so the carryover was pretty seamless. And Brown's welcoming nature, sincerity and family-type atmosphere immediately won him over once Alston got to know him.
"Everything is good here. It's all family. When the change was made I still felt like I fit perfectly in the defense and the scheme that we run, so it all worked out," he said.
It may have worked out much better for Alston than he could possibly ever know.
For instance, in the old Mountaineer defense he would have likely been a situational pass rusher, much like Bruce Irvin was despite him being one of the most explosive football players this program has produced since Pacman Jones.
At other times, that end was required to eat up blockers and create a pathway for the players behind him to make plays, which is what Reese Donahue was required to do a lot last year.
Now, in Vic Koenning's 4-2-5 scheme, the defensive end position Alston is playing lines up on the outside shoulder of the tackle and is asked to get up field and create havoc in the backfield. Think TCU's Ben Banogu or Oklahoma's Eric Striker, two pretty good havoc creators that Mountaineer fans unfortunately got to know pretty well over the years.
That's what the defensive end is expected to be in Koenning's new scheme and with Alston, Michigan transfer Reuben Jones and holdover Jeffery Pooler Jr., he's got three pretty good pieces with which to work. So good, in fact, that it has allowed Quondarius Qualls to move to the Bandit linebacker position to give the defense even more athleticism.
This year's defensive line is not overly big but it's extremely athletic and it is going to have to be one of the strengths of the defense with the inexperience that West Virginia has at safety.
The best way to protect inexperienced safeties is by getting to the quarterback and with guys like Alston, Jones, Pooler, Qualls, VanDarius Cowen and the Stills brothers, Dante and Darius, Koenning has got some dudes who can get there in a hurry.
"People looked at me when I was 226 and they didn't think I had as much power as I had and I was stronger than I looked; now that I'm 250, I feel like I've gotten even stronger, and I'm just as fast, so I feel like I'm more of a complete player at defensive end," Alston explained.
A more complete player performing in a defense that is designed to take advantage of those talents.
So in the end, Taijh Alston has found the right place to play college football, thanks to the persistence of some people who are no longer here. And he's at a place where his talents will be wildly appreciated by a passionate and rabid fanbase.
"I love wearing this WV," he said. "There is just something about putting it on for the people here because there is no NFL team so they genuinely love this WV, and I love that about this school. I love the atmosphere here and everything about it."
Soon, Mountaineer fans may grow to love the way Taijh Alston gets to opposing quarterbacks - something West Virginia has really struggled to do at times in the past.
West Virginia has a closed scrimmage sheduled for tonight under the lights at Milan Puskar Stadium and then will resume on-field work Monday and Tuesday leading into the first day of the fall semester on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
Taijh Alston was in the sights of former West Virginia defensive line coach Bruce Tall two years ago when he was a standout two-way performer at Union Pines High in Cameron, North Carolina, but Alston chose to stay close to home and attend East Carolina.
Then a torn meniscus in his right knee during his true freshman season there forced him to do a little heavy thinking.
Is this the right place for me?
Can I grow as a person being around the same people I've been around my entire life?
Do I need to go someplace different and seek the depths of my own water?
Those were some of the thoughts going through Alston's mind when he ultimately decided to transfer from East Carolina.
"I just felt the way the season was going, it wasn't a good fit for me so I felt like I should leave, and that's what I did," he explained.
In order to get where he wanted to go, Alston headed farther south with the birds - to Wesson, Mississippi, to play at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
It was there where he really blossomed. Taijh had to because he was on his own for really the first time in his life. It was time to become a man.
"I was still young at the time and everybody back home felt like I was going to end up coming back, but I just stayed strong and fought through it," Alston said.
He sure did.
During his one season at Copiah-Lincoln in 2018, Alston produced seven sacks and 15 tackles for losses to earn All-Mississippi juco honors. Once again Tall came calling, and this time Alston was better prepared to listen.
"When I left juco I knew West Virginia was the place for me," he said. "When I was going through my recruiting process again I kept saying to myself 'I'm going to go to West Virginia if they offer me one more time.'"
They did and Alston immediately committed – to a coaching staff that wasn't going to coach him. He was going to be playing for Neal Brown's coaching staff at West Virginia instead."They left a little bit after I committed, and it was a shock," Alston admitted. "I knew the chances that a different coach could be here because it's a business, so I just felt like I had to fulfill my role and do my job."
As was the case with a number of other Mountaineer recruits that Brown had inherited, Alston said he was also recruited by Brown's guys at Troy so the carryover was pretty seamless. And Brown's welcoming nature, sincerity and family-type atmosphere immediately won him over once Alston got to know him.
"Everything is good here. It's all family. When the change was made I still felt like I fit perfectly in the defense and the scheme that we run, so it all worked out," he said.
It may have worked out much better for Alston than he could possibly ever know.
For instance, in the old Mountaineer defense he would have likely been a situational pass rusher, much like Bruce Irvin was despite him being one of the most explosive football players this program has produced since Pacman Jones.
At other times, that end was required to eat up blockers and create a pathway for the players behind him to make plays, which is what Reese Donahue was required to do a lot last year.
Now, in Vic Koenning's 4-2-5 scheme, the defensive end position Alston is playing lines up on the outside shoulder of the tackle and is asked to get up field and create havoc in the backfield. Think TCU's Ben Banogu or Oklahoma's Eric Striker, two pretty good havoc creators that Mountaineer fans unfortunately got to know pretty well over the years.
That's what the defensive end is expected to be in Koenning's new scheme and with Alston, Michigan transfer Reuben Jones and holdover Jeffery Pooler Jr., he's got three pretty good pieces with which to work. So good, in fact, that it has allowed Quondarius Qualls to move to the Bandit linebacker position to give the defense even more athleticism.
This year's defensive line is not overly big but it's extremely athletic and it is going to have to be one of the strengths of the defense with the inexperience that West Virginia has at safety.
The best way to protect inexperienced safeties is by getting to the quarterback and with guys like Alston, Jones, Pooler, Qualls, VanDarius Cowen and the Stills brothers, Dante and Darius, Koenning has got some dudes who can get there in a hurry.
"People looked at me when I was 226 and they didn't think I had as much power as I had and I was stronger than I looked; now that I'm 250, I feel like I've gotten even stronger, and I'm just as fast, so I feel like I'm more of a complete player at defensive end," Alston explained.
A more complete player performing in a defense that is designed to take advantage of those talents.
So in the end, Taijh Alston has found the right place to play college football, thanks to the persistence of some people who are no longer here. And he's at a place where his talents will be wildly appreciated by a passionate and rabid fanbase.
"I love wearing this WV," he said. "There is just something about putting it on for the people here because there is no NFL team so they genuinely love this WV, and I love that about this school. I love the atmosphere here and everything about it."
Soon, Mountaineer fans may grow to love the way Taijh Alston gets to opposing quarterbacks - something West Virginia has really struggled to do at times in the past.
West Virginia has a closed scrimmage sheduled for tonight under the lights at Milan Puskar Stadium and then will resume on-field work Monday and Tuesday leading into the first day of the fall semester on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
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