West Virginia has a plan moving forward for the roster needs
With both the early signing period and the initial days of the late one in the books, what are the primary needs for West Virginia as the program looks to fill out the 2024 roster?
The first transfer window closed, but another opened from April 16-30 while there also will be the possibility of graduate transfers entering at any time to provide even more options. West Virginia is expected to continue to be aggressive when it comes to filling out the roster.
Yes, there is the possibility of junior college or late high school options, but it is much more likely that the coaching staff places the emphasis on transfers.
The primary needs remain in the defensive backfield at both cornerback and safety for the program.
The Mountaineers were able to reel in a pair of cornerbacks in December in Colorado State transfer Ty Crandall and Duquesne transfer Ayden Garnes and then added another in February in Northwestern transfer Garnett Hollis. Still, the position is one that could continue to receive a look depending on what unfolds.
Finding safeties that can bounce around to fill multiple roles also remains a priority in order to sure up the secondary. The Mountaineers did add Northwestern transfer Jaheem Joseph in February but the program lost a pair of commitments there in Louisville transfer Josh Minkins and Old Dominion transfer Tahj Ra-El.
Still, expect that position to receive plenty of attention moving forward. And much like at cornerback, it’s realistic to expect at least one more addition there.
Expect West Virginia also to keep an open mind when it comes to possible additions with both young pass rushers and defensive linemen. The focus here is to continue cultivating depth and avoid a situation where the program constantly recruits new one-year options there every off-season. These don’t have to necessarily be immediate impact options, just ones that fit and have multiple years left.
On offense, the coaching staff will continue to be more selective overall and are only looking at the possibility of even adding to a few of the rooms on the roster.
One of those is wide receiver, where the program could still use some veteran depth. Even with the addition of Oklahoma State transfer Jaden Bray the coaching staff could still explore the possibility of adding more.
The same can be said at tight end as the coaching staff has discussed possibly adding another multi-year option to that room but that is expected to be something the staff discusses in the coming weeks.
The final spot would be offensive line but given the addition of Jacksonville State transfer Xavier Bausley that likely isn’t as necessary as some of the spots on defense. The coaching staff likes the current makeup of that position room and believes that while the right fit could change that, overall, the Mountaineers have done a good job building that room up over the years.
West Virginia has been aggressive to date when it comes to mining the portal and you can expect that to continue as the coaches look to fill out the roster with both immediate and long-term options.
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