West Virginia needed to address the offensive line in this recruiting class down the stretch and they have done so by adding the commitment of Brooklyn (N.Y.) ASA College offensive tackle Tairiq Stewart.
Stewart, 6-foot-6, 330-pounds, picked the Mountaineers over offers from Tennessee, Maryland, Boise State, Southern Mississippi, Toledo and Western Kentucky.
The Rivals.com three-star prospect was rated as the No. 28 prospect at the junior college level nationally and his recruitment took off in recent weeks after receiving an offer from West Virginia in October. The Mountaineers started contact with Stewart during the spring and that carried over into the fall.
That effort has been led by a combination of offensive line coach Matt Moore as well as recruiting coordinator Scott Gasper and both have established a solid connection.
Stewart is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and already had an idea about the Mountaineers football program but was able to gain even more insight on his official visit over the weekend. The junior college offensive tackle also took an official visit to Toledo the weekend prior.
West Virginia emerged as the leader for Stewart along with Maryland, but the visit to campus led to the Mountaineers sealing up his recruitment ahead of the early signing period.
Stewart isn’t set to graduate from ASA until May but will have two years of eligibility left.
Stewart represents the fifth offensive lineman in the class behind Hightstown (N.J.) The Peddie School offensive lineman Chris Mayo, Fairmont (W.Va.) Fairmont Senior lineman Zach Frazier, Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha offensive lineman Jordan White and Council Bluffs (Ia.) Iowa Western C.C. offensive lineman Jacob Gamble, and the 17th commitment overall.
WVSports.com will have more with Stewart in the near future.
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