2026 LB Occhipinti looking into spring visit to West Virginia
Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep 2026 linebacker Matthew Occhipinti wasn’t sure how the West Virginia coaches felt about him as a prospect, but he got his answer when the coaches offered.
Occhipinti, 6-foot-3, 225-pounds, was visited by the coaching staff at his school the week before they pulled the trigger on a scholarship offer but he didn’t know if anything would progress further.
That was until the recruiting coordinator at his school and former West Virginia quarterback Markell Harrison informed him that defensive line coach AJ Jackson was offering a scholarship.
“I was completely shocked and ecstatic,” he said.
The 2026 prospect is still finding some things out about West Virginia but has heard about the culture and the program from both the coaches and others.
“They’ve talked about how the games are a crazy atmosphere and everyone looks forward to West Virginia games because there aren’t professional sports, so the games are crazy,” he said.
The offer is the first for Occhipinti and he now is planning to visit Morgantown in the spring to get a look at what the football program has to showcase up close. So far, the 2026 target has visited Syracuse but doesn’t have any other visits set up outside the stop in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers are targeting Occhipinti as a linebacker and have been impressed with his size, speed and production at this stage of his career.
Occhipinti still has over a full year to start sorting through his options before he has to get serious about what all is out there, but he does understand the things he wants his eventual school to have.
“Where I will graduate with a great degree and a program that will develop me and better me as a person and a player,” he said.
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