On Monday, we began this week’s position review with a look at WVU Football‘s cornerback room. For a full breakdown of that group and how it stacks it up with all the new faces, go here.
With that out of the way, the focus shifts to West Virginia’s safety room. This will officially wrap up the Mountaineers’ secondary, which aims to improve from last year’s group. Read more: Position Review #7 (Part 2): Looking at WVU’s overhauled safety room.
This year’s safety group looks strong on paper, one filled with Power Four experience and exciting young players.
Latimer leads nickel/safety position
Before getting into the pure safety position, we start with the players who are listed as a nickel/safety. Think of 2025 leading tackler Fred Perry for this position.
These players can play as a pure safety where they are roaming deeper half of the field, however you will find them primarily in the box. They can act almost as a linebacker but are better equipped to line up in front of a slot receiver or even a tight end.
The clear leader of this group entering the season is Wisconsin transfer Geimere Latimer II. After two strong years at Jacksonville State, the former high school quarterback spent one season in the Big Ten, where he also put together a solid campaign.
With the Badgers, he saw the field in all 12 games and managed to record 28 tackles and a forced fumble. However, just like with Jacksonville State, Latimer lined up as a cornerback.
Related: Tough roster conversations incoming thanks to latest NCAA ruling
In his two years with the Gamecocks, he registered 56 tackles and four interceptions. Latimer is not as big as Perry was, listed about 20 pounds lighter than him, but he has the athleticism and coverage ability to make up for it.
Oklahoma transfer Maliek Hawkins is expected to serve as Latimer’s primary backup. As the younger brother of quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., he enters the season with just one year of collegiate experience.
Coming out of high school as a four-star, Hawkins redshirted last season for the Sooners. He only saw action in one game and did not record any stats.
Do not be surprised if he sees the field a lot more this season for the Mountaineers. Latimer is still the clear starter, but Hawkins has a bright future.
Powdrell and Wilson headline safety room
Moving over to the safety room, where West Virginia arguably boasts an impressive group.This group has the potential to vastly improve on last season’s abysmal defensive numbers.
Four-star freshman Matt Sieg has taken a lot of the headlines over the summer. The hype is warranted, as he was one of the best safeties coming out of the 2026 class.
He is a pure athlete who also played quarterback in high school, and could also see the field on special teams this year. Sieg already has a good sense for tackling, but he will need to keep getting stronger. Even though he is just a freshman, expect to see him lined up at safety this year at times.
Memphis transfer Kamari Wilson and UNLV transfer Andrew Powdrell appear to be the frontrunners for the starting roles. Both bring extensive Power Five experience, with Wilson entering his redshirt senior season and Powdrell beginning his senior year.
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For Wilson, he’s coming off a year at Memphis where he started in all 12 games and led the team with two interceptions and two forced fumbles. He also was the second-leading tackler with 72.
Before that, he spent one year at Arizona State and two years at Florida. With the Gators, he played the most snaps of any true freshmen in the FBS in 2022 with 311. That year he managed to record 40 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
In terms of Powdrell, he joins the Mountaineers after a strong season with the Rebels. As a cornerback, he started in all 14 games and finished fourth on the team with 63 tackles. He also registered five pass breakups and 1.5 TFLs.
Prior to UNLV, Powdrell played two years at Montana where he totaled 68 tackles and nine pass breakups.
Plenty of news to come
That officially wraps up this week’s position review. Throughout this series, I have harped on how important it is for the defense to bounce back from last year.
There are strong candidates across the board defensively to help get that done. However, WVU’s passing defense was nowhere near good enough at times last year, allowing an average of 265 yards and over two touchdowns a game through the air.
However, on paper, this group looks like they will be able to flip the script from last year.
In other news, a lot is happening in the college sports world that directly impacts West Virginia. Things like jersey patches and players such as Brenen Lorient suing the NCAA are all happening as college athletics get closer to starting a new year.
Don’t miss any of the action on the WV Sports Nation app, either on the App Store or the Google Play Store.
