Last week former Tennessee offensive lineman Ray Raulerson became the latest in a recent string of transfers to select West Virginia as their next college destination.

Raulerson, 6-foot-3, 300-pounds, will join the program as a redshirt sophomore and must sit out this upcoming season before having two years of eligibility left beginning in 2017. A backup center for the Volunteers, Raulerson will step into a situation where the starting job will be vacant with the impending departure of long-time starter Tyler Orlosky at the end of the season.

It's the third transfer from a power five program for West Virginia this off-season after adding former Florida quarterback Will Grier, who will sit out this season and be a redshirt junior in 2017 and former Iowa graduate transfer cornerback Maurice Fleming, who will complete his eligibility this fall.

Grier will be right in line to be the starting quarterback next fall after having the same role with the Florida Gators prior to being suspended. Another instance of opportunity as Grier waits in the wings to take the starting role after Skyler Howard exhausts his eligibility at season’s end.

It’s nothing new for the Mountaineers under head coach Dana Holgorsen has filled spots throughout the roster with traditional transfers from both the FBS and FCS levels as well as the graduate variety.

Some of the notable past names on that list include running back Charles Sims from Houston, defensive end Shaquille Riddick from Gardner Webb, quarterback Clint Trickett from Florida State. And that's just to name a few of the players that have made an impact on either side of the ball during his tenure.

While a number of others are in line for playing time this fall as Pittsburgh transfer Rushel Shell is set to assume the starting running back job, Miami transfer Antonio Crawford will compete at cornerback and Michigan transfer Kyle Bosch will retain his role as the starting right guard.

That doesn’t even include others such as Fleming who will be in the mix at cornerback and Michigan transfer Michael Ferns who is competing at the vacant tight end spot.

“We’ve had success with the transfers here. From Clint to Charles Sims to Shaq Riddick, it’s been a good deal for us,” defensive coordinator Tony Gibson said. “They’ve given us a lot of snaps.”

But why the success? A lot of it is prior relationships or connections to the school or the coaching staff but almost more importantly it’s been out of need.

The Mountaineers have done a great job of targeting players that can fill needs, whether that be immediate or the following season, in order to help will holes on the roster. It’s a process that is vetted hard by the coaching staff when considering to take a transfer regarding background and connections.

It’s a formula that West Virginia will undoubtedly continue to look at when filling needs in the future and it’s proven to be an effective one at that.