West Virginia has added a total of a dozen incoming transfers to the football program this off-season.
But one perhaps raised more eyebrows to some fans than the others.
The Mountaineers have added six defensive backs, one wide receiver, one pass rusher, one defensive lineman, one offensive lineman and one inside linebacker which all were considered priority needs.
The last remaining spot to date went to a quarterback in BYU redshirt freshman Ryder Burton.
Yes, a quarterback but how does that make sense with other needs on the roster and limited space. The Mountaineers have their starter in redshirt senior Garrett Greene and his backup in Nicco Marchiol, but this move still makes a lot of sense if you look at the construction of the roster.
Behind those two West Virginia only had one other scholarship quarterback on the roster and that was a true freshman in Khalil Wilkins who hasn’t even arrived on campus yet.
Both Greene and Marchiol dealt with injuries last season and while that isn’t something you can necessarily plan for having a more experienced and reliable option as the third quarterback is critical.
Burton, 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, didn’t see the field as a true freshman with the Cougars but did spend a year in the Big 12 at the college level where he was able to develop in a college system. He also brings the size and athleticism at the position that the Mountaineers want at the position.
While Burton didn’t play at BYU, he was productive as a high school senior throwing for 1,972 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 118 yards and 2 more scores at Springville in Utah.
But perhaps the most important part is that Burton still has all four years of eligibility remaining which means that this won’t be just an addition for this season but potentially for several moving forward.
Burton will have every opportunity to compete this coming season, but his addition could prove critical to provide an in-house challenger for Marchiol next year and give the Mountaineers some options in that room. That could be quite an interesting battle between the two as Burton certainly doesn't lack confidence.
West Virginia lost one redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Boyle to the transfer portal and has replaced him with another that has potential from another Big 12 Conference school. That is good trade at this point of the process especially considering how important that spot is for success for the football team.
The Mountaineers wanted to both increase the talent level in the quarterback room in the short term and long term and the addition of Burton checks off both of those boxes.
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