For specialist Tyler Sumpter his commitment to West Virginia is a homecoming.

Raised a fan of the Mountaineers growing up, both of Sumpter’s parents hail from the Mountain State and he’s well versed in how much the team means to the people. That’s because it had always meant that to him too as he's spent many Saturdays rooting for the old gold and blue.

“My roots are in West Virginia. I grew up watching Pat White and Owen Schmitt. My whole family is West Virginia fans through and through,” Sumpter said.

That was evident in his commitment video when Sumpter paid homage to his West Virginia roots.

“I wanted to show people who I was and I’m all about West Virginia,” he said.

And if that wasn’t enough to lure Sumpter from Alabama, the Mountaineers also presented the added bonus of being able to play for the only coach that offered him a scholarship out of high school in Neal Brown. The two had known each other since his junior year of high school and the punter would eventually sign to play with the Trojans under Brown’s leadership.

Sumpter played for three seasons under Brown, one of which was a redshirt, and already had a strong bond with him as well as many other of his former coaches that made the trek north.

So when Sumpter entered his name in the portal in January, it didn’t take long for the two to connect.

“Thirty-minutes with me being in the transfer portal they got in touch with me,” he said.

This time around it didn’t take much recruiting because Sumpter was already plenty familiar with what Brown had to offer from a coaching perspective.

“He’s a people person and one of the most genuine men I’ve met,” he said of Brown.

West Virginia needed help at punter and Sumpter can offer that after averaging 42.2 yards per kick with 11 touchbacks over the course of his 156 punts during his time on the field. He will have the opportunity to compete for a kicking job if he chooses to do so but the Mountaineers prefer him as a punter.

Sumpter believes the strength of his skill set is directional punting as well as his operational time, with only one punt blocked during his career and that was with a player off-sides.

“What are the odds I could transfer and play for coach Brown again and it’s literally my team?” he said.

Sumpter makes it back to West Virginia around twice a year, but is excited to have the chance to play in front of some of his family members that reside in the state that haven’t seen him play. While many schools had contacted him, the chance to follow through with something he had only dreamt about was an opportunity that he couldn’t let slip through his fingers.

“It’s a big stage and the family thing. It’s just really chasing the dream and it’s something I couldn’t pass up,” he said.

Sumpter plans to arrive at West Virginia as soon as possible, likely around the June 15 date to begin his career. It’s a dream come true for the specialist and one he is excited to see play out in real life.

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