West Virginia was always on the radar for Midlothian (Va.) Manchester 2024 defensive end Makai Byerson and that paid off with his commitment to the football program.

Byerson, 6-foot-5, 220-pounds, selected the Mountaineers over his other four finalists Rutgers, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

The versatile defensive end took an official visit to campus June 2 and then followed that up with official visits to each of his other finalists. After mulling things over elected to announce his commitment to the Mountaineers.

That makes sense in large part because Byerson admitted that trip set the standard for his recruitment given the fact he was able to get a complete picture view of the program.

Byerson also held offers from Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Maryland, Duke and Boston College.

The Rivals.com three-star prospect has ties to the program in the sense that his father Brad was a member of the West Virginia basketball team and he grew up watching games from afar.

The Mountaineers jumped into the mix with a scholarship offer after the Towson football game and that interest never wavered between the pair.

Defensive line coach AJ Jackson served as the lead recruiter for Byerson and the pair built a strong connection during his recruitment. Secondary coach ShaDon Brown also was involved throughout the course of the process.

Byerson is expected to start his career as a stand-up pass rusher with the ability to move around to various spots on the defensive line as he adds size and strength.

“I would play positions based on matchups but with me having pass rushing, length and athleticism while playing other sports I would be used as a pass rusher,” he said.

Byerson was a first-team all-state selection as a junior on the football field and also plays basketball.

The defensive lineman becomes the fourth in the 2024 recruiting class along with Upper Marlboro (Md.) Flowers 2024 defensive end Obinna Onwuka, Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic 2024 defensive end Elijah Kinsler and Camden (N.J.) 2024 defensive tackle Richard James.

He represents the sixteenth overall pledge for West Virginia in this cycle.

----------

• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.

• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel

• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan

•Like us on Facebook