Evaluating where West Virginia football is at in 2020 recruiting?
After a month where West Virginia essentially doubled its commitment list we take a look back at some of the key points and reevaluate where the Mountaineers are at when it comes to the construction of the 2020 recruiting class.
Where will the coaches look next?
The commitment run
Over a span of nine days, the West Virginia coaches added a total of six commitments to the 2020 class. For those that don't closely follow recruiting that is a significant haul, especially when you consider the bulk of those targets have been at the top of the board at their respective positions or earned an offer during camp season.
The Mountaineers added a seventh and eighth only few weeks later bringing the total to 12 overall.
Some of those commitments can be directly attributed to summer official visits, as the Mountaineers hosted 13 prospects over the June 14 weekend, while others would be tied to the usual ebb and flow of camp season which brings visitors to campus.
The program tied up some major needs in that span securing three offensive linemen, a pair of cornerbacks and a much needed pass rusher and now head into the late summer and fall with a clear idea of what needs to happen next.
Basically anytime you're able to double your commitment list with quality prospects that the coaches have personally evaluated it's a good thing for the football program.
The commitments:
While starting with 25 spots in the class, it remains unclear how much West Virginia will utilize blueshirts so the final number of scholarships available to fill in the class is hard to determine at this point in time.
Still, here is a breakdown of the commitments by position.
QB: 1; Garrett Greene
RB: 0
WR: 2; Reese Smith, Devell Washington
OL: 3; Zach Frazier, Chris Mayo, Jacob Gamble
TE: 0
DL: 2; Lanell Carr, Quay Mays
LB: 2; S.L. McCall, Taurus Simmons
S: 0
CB: 2; David Okoli; Jairo Faverus
Class size:
Looking at the numbers there are clear areas that need addressed moving forward as Neal Brown and company look to utilize the remaining scholarships. Let's just say there are 12 scholarships remaining at this time giving room for two of those to be used as blueshirts for the 2019 class. A blueshirt is a prospect that wasn't recruited (an official visit) and essentially goes on scholarship after the first day of fall camp but counts toward the following year's numbers. Here are the areas that need addressed.
RB: 2
OL: 1
TE: 1
DL: 3-4
LB: 1-2
DB: 3
Obviously these are rough estimates and some of those numbers could be manipulated elsewhere for example instead of taking two running backs the program could take one and use that scholarship in another spot to fill out needs. West Virginia also could have more available depending on how things unfold with the construction of the current roster.
Still it's safe to say that there are anywhere between 11-15 scholarships left in this class when the dust settles and that will be the focus moving forward.
Offers:
West Virginia has offered 350 prospects in this class, with a total of around 209 of those already committed to another program. Now that obviously doesn't close the recruitment of any of those prospects in the big picture but the Mountaineers likely have 11-14 scholarships to fill out of a current offer list of around 141. That group will obviously grow as new offers go out from camp season and fall evaluations but there is still quite a list that the program is going to be able to pluck through.
Again, the coaches aren't going to give up on some prospects committed elsewhere which always brings about some surprises with recruiting but there's still quite a list to pluck through overall when looking at the target list.
• GET AN IDEA ON WHERE WEST VIRGINIA STANDS WITH EACH WITH THE HOTBOARD
Official visits:
West Virginia hosted 13 prospects for an official visit during the June 14 weekend and since that time a total of 11 of those are now committed to a college program. Four of those have since pledged to West Virginia with DL Quay Mays, LB Taurus Simmons, OL Chris Mayo, CB David Okoli and DE Lanell Carr, with six others selecting other schools in DE Aaron Lewis (Michigan), LB Tirek Austin-Cave (Miami), WR Kris Draine (Mississippi), CB Tarheeb Still (Maryland, OL Samuel Rengert (Iowa State) and DE Quentin Williams (Miami).
That leaves three prospects that took an official visit in the summer uncommitted.
Gowdy has taken official visits to Georgia Tech, West Virginia and Syracuse and is expected to take trips to Penn State and Oregon this fall. The talented wide receiver prospect is being targeted as both an inside and outside pass catcher for the Mountaineers and likes how he would be utilized as well as the coaching staff.
Mesidor has taken one official visit to date to West Virginia and the Canadian born prospect walked away from that experience high on the program. Mesidor likes the scheme and how the Mountaineers plan to use him as a defensive end that moves around up front which is something that interests him. His recruitment has taken off but West Virginia remains one of the major players.
Unofficial visitors:
West Virginia hosted a large number of prospects on unofficial visits since the new coaches have assumed control in January. The good news is they have been exposed to campus which makes them possibilities for the class down the road.
• Who has visited West Virginia throughout the process? Check THE VISITOR LIST
Additional notes:
West Virginia:
The coaching staff decided to make the state a priority from the time that Neal Brown took control of the program and those efforts paid off with the commitment of Zach Frazier. The Fairmont prospect is one of two priority targets in the state and Brown and his staff were able to symbolically land the lineman on West Virginia Day.
Still, it wasn't all good news as Bluefield defensive end Sean Martin committed to North Carolina after several trips to Morgantown but it's too early to close the book completely there as I fully expect the coaches to continue in pursuit.
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