The West Virginia football program has kicked off the 2027 recruiting class with a bang by adding West Mifflin (Pa.) Rivals250 running back Armand Hill.
Hill, 5-foot-10, 178-pounds, announced his choice on social media picking the Mountaineers over a long list of early scholarship offers including Michigan, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Syracuse and more.
West Virginia had been heavily involved with Hill for quite some time, first extending a scholarship offer in January of 2024 with inside wide receivers coach Blaine Stewart serving as the lead in his recruitment.
A dynamic athlete, Hill has the ability to play either side of the ball but was recruited as a running back by the Mountaineers where he will be able to utilize his skill set.
Hill is the first commitment for West Virginia in the 2027 recruiting cycle and gives the Mountaineers a major jump in that class as he is currently rated as the No. 134 best player nationally. He was named first-team 2024 Greater Allegheny All-Conference last season.
The Rivals.com four-star prospect was comfortable enough to offer up his pledge, giving the Mountaineers a major addition from an area that the program wants to actively recruit.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Hill and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Hill has the type of speed, vision and feet that you want out of a running back in the West Virginia offensive scheme. He has excellent vision and is able to find the hole and then use his speed to get down the field. At his size, Hill possesses plus contact balance and routinely sheds arm tackles.
A home-run threat, Hill is able to get into the open field and then pull away from defenders for big chunks of yards with his plus speed. A good fit for what West Virginia wants to do as there is little wasted movement and he is able to get vertical quickly and create big plays with his legs with impressive cutting.
Hill still has two years of high school to improve even more and it’s obvious that this is a major addition all around for the Mountaineers at a critical position in the offensive scheme.
Fitting the program:
It’s not going to be difficult to find a place for an athlete as explosive and productive as Hill has been through this stage of his high school career. The explosive athlete will be able to immediately compete for playing time when he arrives on campus and brings the exact skill set that the Mountaineers want in the backfield.
Granted it is still early into his recruitment, but the comfort level he had with the coaching staff as well as the campus was likely critical in reeling in his pledge at this stage of the process.
West Virginia has made it clear that Western Pennsylvania will be a key demographic on the recruiting trail and landing one of the best that the state has to offer in the 2027 cycle certainly goes a long way there. This is the type of commitment that can send early shock waves in the region and will only help to further solidify that the Mountaineers are making the area a key priority.
Recruiting the position:
Anytime you land a talent like Hill this early in the process, it checks some major boxes at any position, but with it being so far out at this stage it’s impossible to determine exactly what else could be on the horizon in the 2027 class. Still, with the coaching staff focusing on creating competition at every level it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Mountaineers continue to target the running back spot even with Hill in the fold.
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