West Virginia was clearly behind the eight ball when it came to piecing together the 2020 class.

It’s not anything lost on them either as head coach Neal Brown has pointed it out time and time again. But it's true.

The coaching staff wasn’t even in place until January a season ago meaning that there were automatically behind the eight ball in a process that typically takes upwards to two years.

Making matters even more complicated is that West Virginia spent the bulk of that first month ensuring that the 2019 class would remain in-tact instead of getting a jump on the next season’s efforts. That left them not even hosting their first junior day event until mid-February for the 2020 cycle.

The coaches would buckle down and finish the class strong with 18 signees in December for a class perched around the top 30 nationally but there was a clear directive from the top-down.

“We’ll never be behind again,” said Brian Bennett, director of player personnel.

That has been apparent with West Virginia already hosting five junior day events spread out between December and the three open weekends following the dead period in mid-January. The focus is only starting to shift to the 2021 cycle at some places, but the Mountaineers are already knee-deep into wading into those waters.

From the perspective of visits to schools and hosting talented players, the program is light years from where it found itself at this point last year in those departments.

Considering that by the start of February last year West Virginia had only hosted six players that held a scholarship offer from the program on visits there has been a dramatic shift.

Just how dramatic?

Well, that total a year later is well over 65-plus when it comes to offered prospects already visiting Morgantown for an organized junior day event. That does not even include those that were on campus for camps last summer or games this past fall, either.

Think about that when comparing the two classes at the same time, because it’s a significant difference and highlights just how much of recruiting is done in advance. And these aren’t just marginal players either, no instead they are prospects at the top of their respective boards at positions.

It’s also important to note that many of those players made not one, but multiple visits to Morgantown given the extra time in comparison to the 2020 class.

“We’ve already had some of our top prospects on campus multiple times,” Brown said. “So exciting times ahead.”

That means that the Mountaineers are not only getting players to campus, but very talented ones at that putting the program on equal footing with the schools they are competing against.

“We’re way further ahead. In the 2021 class it will be really the first one we’re battling on equal ground as our competitors,” Brown said.

Currently there is a dead period that will expand the month of February, which means no in-person contact with coaches or visits but once March returns expect the Mountaineers to begin hosting yet again. The concentrated effort has worked on the commitment list as well as the program already has secured three pledges for the 2021 class, while they had zero at this time last year.

West Virginia was behind last year, but it isn’t going to be happening anymore.

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