Lakeland (Fla.) 2025 cornerback Sammy Etienne made his first trip to West Virginia for his official visit to campus and walked away with strong feelings about the Mountaineers football program.
Etienne, 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, didn’t really know what to expect prior to the visit but quickly found out that West Virginia has developed a strong team-based environment.
“The coaching staff, the players everybody is so friendly. And everybody knows each other,” he said. “The culture is a vibe, and I could see myself being there.”
Freshman defensive lineman Nate Gabriel served as the host for Etienne and the two knew each other from their high school days. But Etienne was impressed with all of the things he was able to do such as eating dinner with the coaching staff on the field, going to head coach Neal Brown’s house and much more.
“We did a lot of things. They fed us a lot,” he said.
In fact, the time that Brown spent with Etienne is something that really stood out to him as he didn’t expect the head coach to be that involved throughout the course of the visit.
“He made time for me and was telling me what I would be doing in the future in their program,” he said.
Etienne also was able to sit down with secondary coach ShaDon Brown and discusses how he could be used in the scheme which was appealing to the Florida defensive back. The Mountaineers want Etienne as a cornerback who also could bounce around to safety if need be.
And the coaching staff made it clear where he fit into the picture.
“They were saying I can come in and play early and have a big role if I came up here,” he said. “I like how they would use me, and they made it clear I was a priority.”
Etienne now plans to head to Connecticut and Kansas State for official visits but is hoping to move the visit to see the Wildcats up to this week in order to compare them to his experience in Morgantown.
And while that is uncertain if that will occur, it’s crystal clear the impact this trip had on Etienne.
“After this trip I feel very confident that West Virginia could potentially be the school I would be going to,” he said.
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