MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Exree Loe was considered big for a cornerback when he was a recruit in the class of 2017 out of Greater Johnstown Area High in Johnstown, Pa. He was nearly 200 pounds, but his added size meant he had an extra boost of physicality.
When he got to WVU, the previous coaching staff, led by then-defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, wasn’t quite sure where Loe fit into the secondary, but, if he dedicated himself, he could fill in elsewhere.
There was depth at cornerback, so Loe made the move to safety. With more depth coming in at safety, Loe was in limbo until Gibson thought he was athletic and physical enough to move up and play outside linebacker.
Gibson “just told me I was weighing 200 and that I had an opportunity to play early as a linebacker,” Loe said. “That was the only thing that was on my mind as a redshirt-freshman. I said that was something I was willing to take on and move forward with. It’s a lot different as a linebacker than a safety because you take on linemen more. It’s a lot more physical than it is at safety.”
Gibson kept his promise — following Loe’s redshirt season in 2017, he played 50 defensive snaps in 2018 finishing with eight total tackles (three for a loss), a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
With a new coaching staff in 2019, Loe continued his upward trend, playing in all 12 games and starting in three of them. While playing over 300 defensive snaps, Loe played mostly at Will linebacker, but because of his previous pedigree and injuries in the secondary, Loe played safety and even cornerback at certain points in the season.
Now, as a redshirt-junior, Loe is a critical depth piece for the linebackers corps and look no further than last week at Texas Tech. With bandit linebacker VanDarius Cowan already out with an injury, Mike linebacker Tony Fields was ejected for a targeting foul in the first half. On the fly, Josh Chandler-Semedo moved inside from Will linebacker, which allowed Loe to get major reps from that spot.
“It’s just something you have to be ready for,” he said. “Anything can happen in this game and I was ready for my opportunity whenever it came and I took advantage of it as much as I possibly could.”
Loe finished with nine tackles, good for second on the team. Next, he and the Mountaineers will take on Kansas State at noon Saturday at Milan Puskar Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPN2.
Tweet @SeanManning_1
