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–Roster movement continues for football. West Virginia continues to see a flow of players heading into and out of the football program this off-season. The good news is that, outside of the names that had already either been removed from the roster or announced their intentions to exit the football program in the transfer portal the program didn't experience any surprise departures from the roster.
That's good news considering that 36 total players fit that bill and 24 of those were previously on scholarship with the Mountaineers. There were a few that raised some eyebrows such as tight end Jack Sammarco, cornerback Jacolby Spells and some of the true or redshirt freshmen but overall the damage was limited.
And now the transfer portal has closed, effectively leaving the bulk of the roster in place with minimal dings to what the Mountaineers had put in place. In fact, only three players that signed with the program since Rich Rodriguez took over in running back LJ Turner, offensive lineman Will Reed, who never actually enrolled, and tight end Johnny Pascuzzi were among those who departed from the Mountaineers.
And to add to that the Mountaineers continue to add pieces to patch the holes on the roster and bring more competition in the program at key spots.
This past week, the Mountaineers added five more transfer commitments in Southern Illinois linebacker Ben Bogle, Oklahoma offensive lineman Josh Aisosa and Coastal Carolina kicker Kade Hensley, South Carolina State wide receiver Justin Smith-Brown and Texas offensive lineman Malik Agbo to the mix.
Bogle, 6-foot-2, 225-pounds, spent three years with the Salukis where he appeared in four games and redshirted and then played in 13 games with one start as a redshirt freshman with 32 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss.
But Bogle broke out as a redshirt sophomore where he recorded 87 tackles, a conference-best 16.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks and 2 interceptions while starting the final 10 games of the season. Bogle was a Second Team All-MVFC selection and earned honorable mention all-American honors in the process.
The Florida native has two years of eligibility remaining in his career.
Aisosa, 6-foot-3, 323-pounds, enrolled at Oklahoma in January of 2024 but only spent one season with the football program prior to entering the transfer portal.
The Oklahoma native has all four years of eligibility remaining and visited West Virginia April 22 which led to his commitment to the Big 12 Conference program. Aisosa is likely an interior option and possess excellent size and athleticism.
Hensley, 5-foot-10, 190-pounds, spent four years with the Chanticleers and three as the starting field goal kicker where he connected on 34-43 field goal attempts with a long of 49 in two separate seasons.
The Tennessee native entered the transfer portal April 17 and committed to the Mountaineers giving the program a seasoned field goal kicking option. Hensley has one season of eligibility remaining in his college career.
Smith-Brown. 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, spent three seasons with South Carolina State where he hauled in a total of 81 catches for 1,196 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Florida native had his most productive year this past season where he had 54 grabs for 749 yards and 4 scores.
Smith-Brown took an official visit to Morgantown April 21and then committed to the program giving the Mountaineers a wide receiver with over 1,300 snaps played at the position. Smith-Brown has one year of eligibility remaining.
Agbo, 6-foot-4, 300-pounds, was the most recent to commit to the Mountaineers choosing the program after entering the transfer portal and taking an official visit to campus.
Agbo has played 20 games as a blocker during his time with the Longhorns and 32 overall. A former four-star prospect, Agbo has two seasons of eligibility remaining in his career and gives the Mountaineers an athletic offensive lineman option that likely is in line for a much larger role with the Big 12 Conference program.
And just judging by the players visiting campus this thing isn't close to stopping.
2–More visits on deck. West Virginia has already played host to a significant list of transfer options some of which are known and others that have been kept under the radar for a variety of different reasons.
But there are several known visitors set for this week such as Jacksonville State offensive lineman Will O'Steen, Jackson State wide receiver Isaiah Spencer, Emory & Henry defensive back Jacob Robinson, Grand Valley State offensive lineman Jaylin Caldwell, Virginia Tech linebacker Jayden McDonald and West Florida defensive lineman Traevon Mitchell.
There will certainly be others, too.
O'Steen is one of the most experienced tackle options in the transfer portal with 38 career starts at left tackle as well as over 2,700 snaps played. The Alabama native played three seasons under Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers are a clear factor in his recruitment along with North Carolina and South Carolina.
O'Steen was scheduled to begin his visit Sunday and has one year left.
Spencer, 6-foot-2, 195--pounds, spent two years at Jackson State where he first hauled in 24 catches for 207 yards and a touchdown in year one before increasing his output significantly in the second season.
As a sophomore, Spencer had 35 catches for 660 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Mississippi native entered the transfer portal April 23 and has two years of eligibility remaining in his career. He is set to visit April 28-29.
Caldwell is scheduled for April 29 and spent three years at Grand Valley State where he redshirted in the first before becoming a key piece on the offensive line. The Chicago native then appeared in 25 games over the past two seasons and is a versatile offensive tackle option. Caldwell has two years of eligibility remaining in his career.
McDonald is set to visit Wednesday and is an athletic linebacker option. He spent four seasons at Virginia Tech but only appeared in two games last season after missing the year due to injury. As a redshirt freshman, McDonald appeared in 10 games and made three starts where he made 20 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks and one quarterback hurry.
As a sophomore McDonald played in 12 games and started five of those registering 30 tackles. The Virginia native has appeared in 25 games and could have two years of eligibility remaining in his career.
Finally, Robinson spent three seasons with the Wasps where he played in 27 games and recorded 125 tackles and 7 interceptions. That included this past season where the Virginia native was an all-SAC All-Mountain Division selection after recording 71 tackles, 6 interceptions and 5 tackles for loss and half a sack.
The Virginia native has one season of eligibility remaining in his college career and plans to visit West Virginia beginning Thursday.
Mitchell is set to visit May 2. The offered transfer defensive lineman spent the first two years at Chowan where he appeared in 11 games as a true freshman with 27 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, two sacks and two QB hurries and was an all-rookie league selection in the first year. In the second, Mitchell was named first team all GSC after recording 57 tackles and 14 tackles for loss.
Mitchell then appeared in 9 games at West Florida where he had 46 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. The Maryland native has one year of eligibility remaining.
Again, this is just several names, but it's a guarantee that there will be more. West Virginia is working to put the pieces in place for the roster and that means a lot of transfers coming to Morgantown in order to see what the school has to offer.
