What to think of the West Virginia off-season roster movement?
It's been a busy off-season to date for the West Virginia Mountaineers football program with players both coming in and exiting the roster.
WVSports.com examines all the movement to date to see how the roster has fared with a number of scholarships to fill.
Returning:
Declared for NFL Draft: OL Zach Frazier
This was an expected loss but doesn't make it any easier for West Virginia considering Frazier started all four years and was the centerpiece to a veteran offensive line unit. Frazier played over 3,200 snaps for the Mountaineers and the Fairmont native spent the final three years at center. Replacing a player like Frazier won't be easy at all.
Transfers Added: CB TJ Crandall (Colorado State), OLB Ty French (Gardner-Webb), WR Jaden Bray (Oklahoma State), DE TJ Jackson (Troy), CB Ayden Garnes (Duquesne), CB Garnett Hollis (Northwestern), DB Jaheem Joseph (Northwestern), Xavier Bausley (Jacksonville State), LB Reid Carrico (Ohio State)
Crandall, 6-foot-1, 185-pounds, spent one season at Colorado State where he finished with 19 tackles and an interception across 10 games. Elected to enter the transfer portal and collected offers from a long list of programs.
The Washington native only took official visits to West Virginia and UCLA before deciding on the Mountaineers and filling a major need for the program at the cornerback spot. Crandall will have three years of eligibility remaining.
French, 6-foot-3, 230-pounds, is a very experienced option who is coming off a dominant career during his time at Gardner-Webb. French appeared in 41 games during his time at Gardner Webb and recorded 239 tackles, 61 tackles for loss, 34.5 sacks and an interception. He recorded a total of at least 8.5 sacks in three of the four seasons he was on the field earning multiple all-American honors.
A native of Georgia, French is going to step into a role as a pass rusher off the edge for the Mountaineers and has the experience to make an immediate impact.
Bray, 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, spent three seasons in Stillwater and was in the rotation as a true freshman with 13 catches for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns before seeing action in just three games in 2022 resulting in a redshirt. This past season Bray had his most productive year with 30 catches for 382 yards and 2 touchdowns.
A big wide receiver that has shown big-play ability down the field, Bray has two years of eligibility remaining in his career in Morgantown. He is a native of Norman, Oklahoma. He should step into a role immediately with the Mountaineers at wide receiver.
Jackson, 6-foot-2, 280-pounds, spent three years with the Trojans where he recorded 94 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. During the 2022 campaign, Jackson was a first-team all-Sun Belt selection with 8 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss.
A versatile defensive lineman, Jackson could end up at several different spots and collected some impressive scholarship offers. But a visit to West Virginia ended his recruitment before it really took off the ground. The Alabama native has one year left.
Garnes, 6-foot, 170-pounds, is coming off a season where he recorded 51 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions and a sack during his sophomore campaign. The Philadelphia native played a total of 688 snaps and graded out as the highest-rated defensive player on the Dukes' roster.
The FCS transfer took an official visit to Morgantown during the Dec. 8 weekend after previously stopping at Cincinnati and made the decision to pick the Mountaineers. He will slot in as an option that can help immediately and will have two years left.
Hollis, 6-foot-2, 205-pounds, became a priority for the Mountaineers after he entered the transfer portal in February. That resulted in a quick scholarship offer and a few days later a commitment to the Mountaineers. The Tennessee native appeared in 26 games during his time with the Wildcats where he recorded 78 tackles and a pair of picks.
The big cornerback put together his best campaign in his final one in Evanston where he recorded 49 tackles and an interception while starting all 13 games. Hollis brings over 1,000 snaps of Power Four experience into the fold and will have one year left. Expect Hollis to step into a major role in the Mountaineers secondary immediately.
West Virginia also added another transfer defensive back in the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Joseph from Northwestern. Joseph spent four seasons with the Wildcats but had his most productive in his final year playing 357 snaps and being productive in the process with 24 tackles and 3 interceptions on the season.
A native of Miami, West Virginia offered Joseph just a few days after entering the transfer portal and he would commit to the program not that long after. The versatile defensive back could see time at various spots in the secondary but spent the majority of this past year at free safety. He has two seasons of eligibility left in his career and will step in to contribute immediately in the backend of the defense.
Related: West Virginia looks for certain qualities in ascending players
Bausley, 6-foot-5, 315-pounds, is a familiar name in the sense that he was a product of South Charleston prior to heading to Jacksonville State. After a season where he earned all-freshmen Conference USA honors starting 11 games for the Gamecocks the in-state native elected to enter the transfer portal.
West Virginia was one of a number of schools to get involved and secured an official visit along with Kentucky and Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers would earn his commitment following his three trips and Bausley will step into a role at right tackle with three years remaining in his college career.
Carrico, 6-foot-2, 235-pounds, played in 21 games during his time at Ohio State but was limited to special teams and as a reserve linebacker. That role should grow significantly in Morgantown as the versatile linebacker collected dozens of scholarships out of Ironton High School and received a number of offers when he entered the portal.
West Virginia needed veteran help at the linebacker spot and Carrico should provide just that as he could be a fit at either of the inside spots for the program.
Early Enrollees: DL Nate Gabriel, DL Obinna Onwuka, S Zae Jennings, S Israel Boyce, DL Elijah Kinsler, TE Jack Sammarco
Given the experience on the roster, each of these players isn't necessarily going to be counted on to contribute immediately but getting to campus early will certainly help that. Out of this list, the safeties will have pathways to help along with the linemen.
Other signed freshmen: QB Khalil Wilkins, WR DayDay Farmer, WR Brandon Rehmann, WR Dom Collins, RB Diore Hubbard, RB Traevon Dunbar, OL Kyle Altuner, OL Justin Terry, OL Lucas Austin, DL Makai Byerson, LB Rickey Williams, LB Curtis Jones, DB Jason Cross, DB Keyon Washington, DB Chris Henry, ATH Keyshawn Robinson
In Portal: DL Mike Lockhart, DE Tomiwa Durojaiye, LB Jared Bartlett, S Hershey McLaurin, LB James Heard, RB Justin Johnson, WR Jeremiah Aaron, WR Cortez Braham, LB Lance Dixon, CB Andrew Wilson-Lamp, S Keyshawn Cobb, WR Ja'Shaun Poke, S Davis Mallinger, S Christion Stokes, LB Tirek Austin-Cave, RB DJ Oliver, OL Charlie Katarincic
Lockhart was an impactful loss up front after he appeared in 24 games over the past two seasons when he transferred in from Georgia Tech. He recorded 34 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks during that time and had his most productive season this past year with the bulk of that production occurring. He has one season left.
Durojaiye only spent a season in Morgantown after transferring over from Kentucky after only a season there. In his lone year on the field, Durojaiye recorded 23 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks while showing significant promise upfront. The Delaware native now will have three seasons left in his next stop.
Bartlett appeared in 50 games during his five seasons with West Virginia including starting a total of 24 of those games. The pass-rushing linebacker put together a solid career with 134 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 14 sacks. In his final season with the Mountaineers, Bartlett had 49 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
McLaurin appeared in 23 games during his time with West Virginia and saw action at both spear and safety. He finished with with 89 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks during his time on the field and is one of the few impactful departures.
Dixon appeared in 29 games over his time with West Virginia and recorded 72 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Still, the former Penn State product never really found his footing and now was eventually dismissed from the program. He will have one year left at his final college stop.
Heard was expected to step into a larger role in the future as he spent his first season developing as a pass rusher but elected to enter the transfer portal with four years left.
Johnson entered the transfer portal after three seasons with the Mountaineers where he rushed for 670 yards and 4 touchdowns during that time. He was effective as a member of the West Virginia backfield and will now have one year left.
Braham and Aaron ended any suspense during the season when the pair elected to take a self-redshirt season after seeing action in four games. The pair combined for just 4 catches for 25 yards and made little impact on the season.
The rest have been reserves that have seen limited action in Morgantown.
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