James picks WVU

West Virginia landed one of its top targets on the board when Richmond Hill (Ga.) wide receiver Sam James committed to the Mountaineers over his other three finalists Friday.

James, 6-foot-1, 160-pounds, had narrowed his list to a top group of West Virginia, Mississippi State, Maryland and Cincinnati after visiting each of the schools during the summer months but elected to cast his lot with head coach Dana Holgorsen’s football program at a ceremony at his high school.

“It stuck out. I just really liked it,” James said.

Prior to cutting his visit, James also had collected scholarship offers from a number of others including South Carolina, Louisville, Missouri, Kansas and a number of other schools.

However, things turned toward the Mountaineers following a very productive visit to campus where he was able to not only spend time with the coaching staff but get a full picture look at the facilities.

The Rivals.com three-star prospect emerged as one of the top options on the board for the Mountaineers at the wide receiver position led by the efforts of cornerbacks coach Doug Belk. The West Virginia assistant has been the driving force between the push into the Peach State and James is one of the top prospects that emerged on the radar of the coaching staff.

That was only further cemented after a dominant performance at the Mountaineers one-day camp where he was the standout performer at the position displaying both excellent speed and body control. James also impressed during his stop at Mississippi State reportedly running a 4.28 40-yard dash.

James also was recruited by wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier and the two bonded during his visit to campus as he was able to work out with him during the course of the camp.

The explosive wide receiver becomes the tenth overall commitment for West Virginia in the 2018 class and is the third at the wide receiver position behind Holly Springs (N.C.) athlete Bryce Wheaton and Houston (Tx.) North Shore wide receiver Ralph Davis.

WVSports.com will have more with James in the near future.

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READ: Our breakdown of the skillset of James and how he fits on the team ($) https://westvirginia.rivals.com/news/commitment-101-sam-james

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