West Virginia's pass defense just received a personnel boost in the middle of Big 12 play.
Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen announced on Wednesday that previously suspended cornerback Daryl Worley has been reinstated to the team.
"Earlier today, I fully reinstated Daryl Worley to our football program. The decision came after Daryl pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from an incident back in September," Holgorsen said in a statement. "As I have said many times, we have a high standard of conduct that we expect our student-athletes and our coaches to live up to and, in this instance, Daryl failed to meet those expectations. However, since arriving in Morgantown, Daryl has done many good things and many things right, on and off the field, and I am confident that he will be a better man and teammate moving forward."
The sophomore was arrested several days after the team's win over Maryland after he allegedly injured a female at a Morgantown nightclub. West Virginia quickly suspended Worley after learning of the incident prior to their Big 12 opener against Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound cornerback was arguably the team's top cover man in the secondary and started the Mountaineers' first three games of 2014 after turning into a starter late in his true freshman campaign. He had two interceptions (which still is the team lead) and 17 tackles on the year prior to his suspension.
Adding Worley back into the mix at corner should boost a squad that has been in the middle of the pack when it comes to most defensive rankings on the season.
Throw in the return of fellow cornerback Ishmael "Icky" Banks to the lineup ahead of the Oklahoma game, and West Virginia is finally back to full strength in the secondary for the first time since fall camp. Juniors Jaylon Myers, Ricky Rumph and a handful of others filled in for the pair during their on-field absence.
West Virginia travels to Lubbock to take on pass-happy Texas Tech on Saturday.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
