Hadley sees opportunities at WVU
Toms Rivers (N.J.) Monsignor Donovan long snapper JP Hadley had West Virginia on his short list since the Mountaineers first entered the picture in March.
So it came no surprise that when it was time to make a decision on where he would spend his college career the Mountaineers were the pick.
Hadley, 6-foot-3, 265-pounds, plays right guard and defensive tackle for his high school but his abilities as a long snapper that have drawn preferred walk on opportunities with college programs. The Mountaineers efforts were led by assistant Mark Scott and he built a strong bond early.
“He is a great guy and I look forward to working with him. He’s a man of his word and told me the situation and where the scholarship lies with them,” he said.
The Rivals.com two-star prospect was one of the standouts during the West Virginia specialist camp this past summer and the environment on campus stuck with him.
So he called Scott early in the week to tell him that he was down to two schools and would be visiting Morgantown with the intent of making his decision much more clear. However, he wouldn’t even need the game to realize his choice.
Hadley called Scott to inform him that he was going to be a Mountaineer and the following day he would shake the assistant’s hand to seal the deal.
“This is where I want to be,” he said. “The players made me feel like family.”
While Hadley will enter the football program as a preferred walk-on, the coaching staff has told him that there are opportunities to earn a scholarship down the line as he competes for the starting role.
With current starter Nick Meadows set to graduate at the end of the season, Hadley expects to compete for a role as the team’s long snapper from the moment he arrives on campus.
“They want to see if I can push the other guys and battle it out and it comes down to who gets that starting spot and if they can perform well enough to be locked in as the starter,” he said.
Even as a walk-on Hadley has the utmost confidence in his own abilities and is excited to arrive and begin working with the specialists on the West Virginia staff.
Hadley selected the Mountaineers over walk-on offers from Rutgers, Temple, James Madison and Monmouth and colleges have been impressed with his snap speed as well as his accuracy. He is still working on his mobility getting down field and forcing returners toward gunners, but Hadley continues to refine his overall game as a long snapper.
As of now, Hadley doesn’t plan any additional visits and expects to enroll at West Virginia.
“They’ve always been a dream, a goal school for me,” he said.
