Examining an updated view of the transfer portal at West Virginia

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The transfer portal has become one of the hot topics across the college football landscape.

A database built primarily to help streamline the traditional transfer process, college athletes provide their intent to leave their respective schools to the compliance office who then enter their name into the portal. From there, unless indicated otherwise, other college coaches can contact them.

Now, just because a player enters the portal does not mean they have to leave or even if there will be another school waiting for them on the other side.

The discussion has been around the number of players leaving schools for either new opportunities or being stuck in portal limbo but what have the real numbers shown?

This is an update to a previous series.

The Mountaineers had 15 scholarship players with eligibility transfer during or after the 2017 football season, the last before the introduction of the transfer portal.

Among those that landed at another college were DE Adam Shuler (Florida), NG Lamonte McDougle (Washington State), WR Reggie Roberson (SMU), QB Chris Chugunov (Ohio State), OL Alec Shriner (Mercer), CB Kevin Williams (Alabama State), CB Fontez Davis (Western Carolina), DL Jaleel Fields (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), WR Ricky Rogers (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) and QB David Isreal (Bethune-Cookman).

Others on the list included CB Jacquez Adams (Arizona Western J.C.), S Collin Smith, DL Jalen Harvey, K Jonn Young (East Carolina) and OL Ray Raulerson, although the latter did not pursue a transfer opportunity and elected to give up the game of football.

Still that’s 15 players that elected to transfer from West Virginia prior to the start of the 2018 season.

So what are the totals for the next couple of years?

From the end of the 2018 campaign that total was eight represented by S Kenny Robinson (XFL), WR Marcus Simms (NFL Supplemental Draft), S Derrek Pitts (Marshall), OL Matthew Jones (Youngstown State), WR Dillon Spalding (James Madison), CB Jordan Adams (Massachusetts), DL Tyrese Allen (Murray State) and S Eugene Brown (Iowa Western).

Two of those were obviously special cases in Robinson and Simms that dealt with academic issues that led to their departures from the program and eventually alternative methods outside college.

Obviously, that total is lower than what unfolded prior to the portal but what about the past several years?

There were several departures both during and after the season making it an interesting case study to compare the totals to the past few years.

There were 10 players that entered the transfer portal during the 2019 campaign.

Those that found schools are OL Josh Sills (Oklahoma State), S JoVanni Stewart (Houston), TE Jovani Haskins (Rutgers), QB Trey Lowe (Southern Mississippi), S Kwantel Raines (Temple), RB Martell Pettaway (Middle Tennessee State), WR Ricky Johns (Albany), WR Tevin Bush (Nicholls) and QB Jack Allison (West Liberty).

That left OL Tyler Thurmond who had not been designed as finding a landing spot.

As for 2020, those scholarship players that have entered include S Tykee Smith (Georgia), DL Jeffery Pooler (Northwestern), OL Junior Uzebu (Vanderbilt), RB Alec Sinkfield (Boston College), LB Charlie Benton (UAB), CB Dreshun Miller (Auburn), WR Randy Fields (Tennessee Martin), OL Briason Mays (Southern Mississippi), S Noah Guzman (Northern Arizona), QB Austin Kendall (Louisiana Tech), DL Quay Mays (Arkansas State), DB Tae Mayo (Butler C.C.), OL Tariq Stewart (North Carolina A&T), CB David Okoli, WR Ali Jennings (Old Dominion), OL Blaine Scott (Northern Colorado), WR Zack Dobson (Tennessee State) and DB Tacorey Turner (Alabama A&M).

That's 18 total with enrollment closed for the 2021 fall semester.

The 2021 cycle closed but the players that entered the portal included DL Akheem Mesidor (Miami), QB Jarret Doege (Western Kentucky), WR Winston Wright (Florida State), CB Daryl Porter (Miami), DB Jackie Matthews (Mississippi State), LB Josh Chandler-Semedo (Colorado), LB VanDarius Cowan (Maryland), WR Sam Brown (Houston), CB Nicktroy Fortune (UTSA), WR Isaiah Esdale (Rice), WR Sean Ryan (Rutgers), TE T.J. Banks (Akron), LB James Thomas, TE Charles Finley, S Kerry Martin (Akron), LB Eddie Watkins (Alabama A&M), WR Devell Washington (Northern Iowa), RB A'Varius Sparrow (Middle Tennessee State), OL John Hughes (Rice), OL Parker Moorer (East Carolina), LB Ja’Corey Hammett (JUCO), DL Tavis Lee, RB Lyn-J Dixon (Tennessee) and DL Darel Middleton (Professional).

That makes a total of 24 for the 2021 year, which again is an increase.

The 2022 cycle which began Dec. 5 and then opened back up in April has saw West Virginia have WR Kaden Prather (Maryland), DL Jordan Jefferson (LSU), RB Tony Mathis (Houston), QB JT Daniels (Rice), QB Will Crowder (Troy), CB Charles Woods (SMU), DL Taijh Alston, (Colorado) LB Lanell Carr (Indiana), OL Jordan White (Liberty), DB Jaylon Shelton (Texas State), S Caleb Coleman (Texas State), LB Aric Burton (Southern Utah), OL Chris Mayo (Eastern Michigan), S Saint McLeod, TE Mike O'Laughlin (Houston), TE Corbin Page, CB Tyrin Woody (Morgan State), CB Mumu Bin-Wahad (Connecticut) and WR Reese Smith (Liberty) for a total of 19.

Meanwhile, the 2023 cycle produced these players jumping in DL Mike Lockhart (SMU), LB Jared Bartlett (Cincinnati), DE Tomiwa Durojaiye (Florida State), S Hershey McLaurin (Houston), LB James Heard (Syracuse), WR Ja'Shaun Poke (San Diego State), WR Jeremiah Aaron (North Texas), WR Cortez Braham (Nevada), RB Justin Johnson, CB Andrew Wilson-Lamp (East Carolina), LB Lance Dixon (Toledo), S Keyshawn Cobb (Nevada), S Christion Stokes (Findlay) and WR Davis Mallinger (Nevada).

That's a total of 14.

It's also important to note that while West Virginia has lost players, they have certainly added them from other programs as well.

So while a limited sample size of only five plus years, at least in Morgantown, the totals have certainly increased. But it isn’t necessarily the numbers as much as the type of players that have left and that has been a mixed bag as well when it comes to the football program.

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