WVSports.com continues with our popular feature: The 3-2-1. We'll break down three things we learned that week, two questions we have and give one prediction.
Here is the next installment of the 3-2-1 looking at the West Virginia football program, the latest on basketball, and what’s happening in recruiting.
3 things I learned:
1–Portal additions continue. When Rich Rodriguez took over the West Virginia football program in December it was known that the Mountaineers were going to have to utilize the transfer portal to fill out the various spots on the roster. And that was before a total of 19 players, some of them potential key returnees elected to exit the program.
And over the past few weeks, the coaching staff has been hard at work doing just that when it comes to adding talented pieces out of the portal.
The Mountaineers already had nine transfer portal commitments in the fold moving into the start of this past week and continued to reel in players on that front at a rapid pace growing that total to 24 transfer additions and a junior college prospect.
The program kicked off the week with a commitment from former Jacksonville State wide receiver Cam Vaughn. The Georgia native was a critical addition for the Mountaineers considering that he had already played and had success under Rodriguez during his time with the Gamecocks at a position of need on the roster.
Vaughn, 6-foot-2, 190-pounds, spent two seasons at Jacksonville State where he spent the first transitioning from a quarterback to a wide receiver and then saw the fruits of that labor payoff during his redshirt freshman campaign. Vaughn led the Gamecocks with 49 catches for 804 yards and 5 touchdowns while demonstrating the ability to serve as a key piece in the Rodriguez led offense.
The Georgia native averaged almost 17 yards per catch and was elusive in the process forcing a total of 17 missed tackles, which is more than the entire wide receiver room forced for the Mountaineers this past season according to Pro Football Focus.
The addition would be critical under any circumstance, but especially when you consider that the Mountaineers are losing the bulk of the production from this past season at that spot and Vaughn should be able to step in and contribute immediately.
The Mountaineers had a run on defensive backs adding seven veterans to the mix from the transfer portal in Nevada cornerback Michael Coats, Chattanooga safety Jordan Walker, Jacksonville State safety Fred Perry, Akron cornerback Devonte Golden-Nelson, Jacksonville State cornerback Derek Carter, Washington safety Justin Harrington and Virginia Union safety William Davis.
Coats is one of the top cornerback targets available in the transfer portal and is coming off an impressive 2024 campaign at Nevada where he earned first-team All-Mountain West honors. Appearing across 850 snaps, 41 tackles, 17 passes defended and 4 interceptions while charting elite coverage grades.
Coats was targeted 55 times but gave up only 25 catches for 328 yards. On top of that, he recorded a total of 4 interceptions and 9 pass breakups while permitting just two touchdowns. The year prior Coats gave up just 11 catches on 24 targets for 84 yards while recording 4 pass breakups and an interception without allowing a touchdown.
The Mississippi native spent time at East Central C.C. prior to that and did not play high school football. The Mountaineers wanted to add some experience and talent to the cornerback room and Coats certainly provides that. He has one year left.
Walker spent five seasons at UT Chattanooga where he was highly productive on the field with 147 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 9 passes defended and 4 interceptions.
A versatile safety who has spent time at free safety, in the box and in the slot, Walker plays well in space and is an experienced option who should be able to come in and immediately challenge for a large role in the West Virginia secondary in his final year.
Perry is in the same mold with almost 2,000 snaps to his credit on defense across 36 games with a statistical line of 257 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, 6 forced fumbles, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. The former freshman all-American has experience in Zac Alley's defensive scheme and will have one year left to come in and make an impact at the Big 12 Conference level after recording 110 tackles last year.
Golden-Nelson has over 1,000 snaps on defense during his three years at Akron and was productive across his 29 appearances with 12 total starts with 66 tackles, 10 passes defended and a pair of interceptions. The Tennessee native started a total of 12 games during that time and had 33 tackles and 7 passes defended in 2024.
Golden-Nelson is another addition to the West Virginia secondary which has been completely remade this off-season through the transfer portal.
Carter is another experienced defensive back with over 1,000 snaps at the cornerback spot. He has played a total of 35 games and recorded 89 tackles, 10 passes defended and an interception during that time. A second-team all-Conference USA selection in 2023, Carter also has experience in the defensive scheme under Alley.
Harrington spent only one season at Washington where he was used sparingly on defense but appeared in 15 games over his time with Oklahoma before that. He recorded 29 tackles and a pair of interceptions across 15 games and was the starter at Cheetah in 2023 for two games prior to a season-ending injury.
One of the top junior college players in the country prior to his time with the Sooners, Harrington racked up 97 tackles and 7 interceptions while at Bakersfield College.
The Mountaineers also filled a need in the linebacker room with a commitment from Colorado State transfer Chase Wilson. Wilson spent five seasons with the Rams where he had 234 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 9 passes defended, 6 sacks, and 2 interceptions during that time as a highly productive linebacker.
The Colorado native started 25 games the past two seasons and recorded 107 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 3 passes defended in 2023, and 98 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and a pair of interceptions this past season. Wilson entered the transfer portal on Jan. 8 and quickly made the decision to commit. He has one season of eligibility remaining in his college career.
On the defensive line, West Virginia added Wyoming defensive end Braden Siders. Siders spent four seasons at Wyoming and started 26 of 33 games after redshirting in his first campaign. The Colorado native was productive in his three seasons on the field recording 91 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks.
That included the 2022 campaign where he had 44 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 7 sacks. Siders entered the transfer portal in early December and gave West Virginia a seasoned defensive lineman. He has one season of eligibility remaining in his career.
West Virginia also filled a need in the backfield with Northern Iowa running back transfer Tye Edwards. He spent the past two seasons with the Panthers where he rushed for 1,557 yards and 11 touchdowns. That included this past season where Edwards rushed for 1,022 yards and 6 scores while catching 12 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown and emerging as a key option in the portal.
The Florida native also spent one season at Texas San Antonio as well as previous stops at Hutchinson C.C. and Georgia Military College. Edwards entered the transfer portal Dec. 26 after the JUCO ruling and currently has one year of eligibility remaining.
The Mountaineers also added commitments from Tulane kickoff specialist Ethan Head, Iowa tight end Johnny Pascuzzi, LSU lineman Kimo Makane’ole and N.C. State offensive lineman Robby Martin.
Head spent only one season at Tulane where he made 4-5 field goals and had 77 kickoffs for 4,873 yards and 50 touchbacks. The Illinois native has three years left in his career and should be able to compete immediately at multiple specialist spots.
Pascuzzi spent four years at Iowa where he served primarily as a blocking tight end with 246 of his 277 total offensive snaps in that department. The Kansas native is a former walk-on who drew interest from multiple schools once he entered the transfer portal and brings experience and a physical element to the position for West Virginia.
Makane'ole spent four years at LSU where he played on both sides of the football with his first three years on the offensive line and his last on the defensive line. The Florida native is an experienced option who has played only a handful of snaps in his career.
Martin only spent one season at N.C. State but the Huntington native was a key target for West Virginia during his initial recruitment. The first team all-state selection visited West Virginia Jan. 9 and committed to the program a few days later. He is a transfer who will have all four years of eligibility remaining in his career.
Davis spent three seasons with the Panther on the field where he is coming off a season where he recorded 56 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack and a pair of interceptions earning first-team all-conference honors at the nickel back position.
Over the course of his time at Virginia Union, Davis had a total of 115 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 9 interceptions, 4 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles as a two-year starter. The versatile safety could fill a number of roles in his final season of eligibility.
The final commitment came from Wyoming defensive end Braden Siders who played three seasons with the Cowboys. Siders spent four seasons in total at Wyoming and started 26 of 33 games after redshirting in his first campaign.
The Colorado native was productive in his three seasons on the field recording 91 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. That included the 2022 campaign where he had 44 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 7 sacks. Siders entered the transfer portal in early December and gives West Virginia a seasoned defensive lineman.
