The transfer portal can both take away and give as West Virginia has seen firsthand this off-season.

The Mountaineers have lost a pair of starters in spear safety Tykee Smith and cornerback Dreshun Miller, along with a number of a number of other scholarship players.

But the program also has already been able to add Penn State linebacker Lance Dixon to fill a hole at that spot along with Virginia Tech offensive lineman Doug Nester along the offensive front.

Nester, a two-year starter that played over 1,000 snaps for the Hokies, is already working with the team after arriving in January to start his college career. The Mountaineers attempted to lure Nester to Morgantown during his initial recruitment out of Spring Valley High School but were unsuccessful.

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown took over the job in January 2019 and spent the better part of a month trying to sway the in-state native toward his upstart program. While ultimately those efforts failed, Brown believes that the connection they made helped when he came available through the portal just a few short years later.

“I think how we handled that month with his mom and his dad, with Doug and his sisters. And when he made his decision that it wasn’t going to be West Virginia the first time I think our response to that was positive,” Brown said.

So, when the time came for Nester to find a landing spot, the Mountaineers not only offered the possibility of getting onto the field early but an already built-in connection with both players on the roster as well as the coaching staff that tried to recruit him out of high school.

“He had some relationships with our players but also I think that relationship we established there in that month we were recruiting him. I think that paid off,” Brown said.

Nester was billed coming into the program as somebody that could step in and contribute from the start. And so far through spring practice, he certainly hasn’t disappointed.

“The last two days he’s been impressive,” Brown said.

West Virginia has worked Nester at both offensive tackle and guard during the spring and despite missing the first practice due to contact tracing he has quickly made his mark on the offensive front. As Nester has continued to learn his role on the team, he has been catching the eyes of those observing.

“You can see him playing with more confidence and being more physical,” Brown said. “Excited about him. I think he can be an upper-level Big 12 offensive lineman without a doubt.”

Nester was a key addition for West Virginia given what they lost on the offensive line from last year and if you throw in the fact, he still has three years of eligibility on the table it’s a massive pull from the portal ranks. And one that Brown has high hopes for moving ahead.

“Look forward to him playing a big role with us over the next couple years,” he said.

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