Noble Nwachukwu had 8 1/2 sacks last season. That’s the third-best total in the past 10 seasons at WVU. But he’s back for his senior season, and Tony Gibson believes the Texan can best any tackle one-on-one.

Does he have to? Yes and no.

The Mountaineers, you probably know, don’t expect pressure to come from the defensive line. If an end can jump up and get a hurry or a sack, they’ll take it. If a nose can run over the center and put the quarterback on his can, that’s perfectly acceptable. Whatever Nwachukwu gives the defense in any of those categories, the better WVU is for it.

But the pressure often comes from the safeties and the linebackers, and the defensive line has to stay in the scheme to facilitate that. There’s a lot of discipline and selflessness involved there. This season, WVU has some new safeties and linebackers who really haven’t done too much blitzing, as well as some defensive linemen who could actually show off some pass-rush skills.

At the end of the preseason, the Mountaineers find they’re deeper there than they’ve been in a while.

In the past, WVU has asked linebackers to play defensive end in situations when a pass rush is needed, but Tall is only using players from his group. Those are the players he knows best, and they’re the ones who have progressed through the way he teaches how to rush the passer.

Tall shows everyone a variety of techniques and takes note of what does and doesn’t work for all the players. He then shows the players film of those results and starts to pare down all the possibilities.

“They get to see themselves and study themselves and see what’s good for them,” he said. “Initially, you’re teaching them all the same things, because you don’t know who’s going to be able to pick up what and when, and then you try to find little things you can teach them daily.

“You try to pick out pointers for them. ‘Hey, this is what’s really good for you. This is what you need to be doing.’ You try to get them to work at it and work at it. ‘Don’t get frustrated. Keep working it, because this is your move.’ ”