West Virginia added to its 2020 recruiting class at a position of need with the commitment of Evergreen (Ala.) Hillcrest defensive end Eddie Watkins picking the Mountaineers.
Watkins, 6-foot-4, 220-pounds, made his first visit to Morgantown over the Dec. 6 weekend and saw enough to end his recruitment by casting his lot with the Mountaineers after taking several other visits down the stretch run.
The explosive pass rusher was originally committed to Georgia Tech but backed off that pledge in September which led to West Virginia getting in the mix. The Mountaineers efforts were led by outside linebackers coach Al Pogue.
He made a connection with Watkins which led to his official visit to campus. It was the third official visit for Watkins in the process after stops at Georgia Tech and Purdue and he followed that up with trips to Arizona and Missouri.
“They’ve been on me for a while and they’ve been recruiting me hard,” Watkins said.
The Rivals.com three-star prospect had narrowed his list to a final list of West Virginia, Missouri and Arizona and ultimately the draw of playing in the Mountaineers defense was too much.
Watkins is slated to play the bandit linebacker positions for the Mountaineers but could grow into a defensive lineman once he gets into a college weight program. He consistently displays an ability to get off the edge as a pass rusher and can cover and stop the run from that spot.
He represents the 21st total pledge for the program in the 2020 class and is the third that could potentially play bandit for the Mountaineers after St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet outside linebacker Lanell Carr and Savannah (Ga.) Jenkins linebacker Taurus Simmons.
WVSports.com will have more with Watkins in the near future.
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