The West Virginia Mountaineers football program has added a key piece up front with a commitment from Moody (Ala.) 2026 defensive lineman Cameron Mallory.
Mallory, 6-foot-2, 280-pounds, picked the Mountaineers over offers from Missouri, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and a number of other programs.
The Rivals.com three-star prospect received an offer from West Virginia in February, and those efforts have been led by defensive line coach William Green. The assistant actually had been in contact with Mallory even before then when he was on the Jacksonville State coaching staff.
Mallory took an official visit to Morgantown over the weekend and that led to his commitment to the program giving the Mountaineers a versatile defensive lineman in the 2026 class.
Mallory is coming off a junior campaign where he recorded 96 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and 2 forced fumbles and is being slotted at multiple spots on the Mountaineers defensive front.
Mallory represents the first commitment for West Virginia on the defensive line in the 2026 class.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Mallory and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Mallory is difficult to deal with inside as he displays both strength and quick ball get-off. The talented defensive lineman plays with good leverage and is able to cause disruption. But he doesn’t just rely on his strength, as Mallory has good feet and is able to defeat blockers with his speed to get into the backfield.
Plays with good pursuit and a motor that allows him to finish plays. His strength allows him to defeat double teams at times, and he has the positional flexibility to end up at multiple spots up front.
Mallory has upside in his game as well as he gets into a college program, and they refine his technique further.
Fitting the program:
There is a comfort level with both Mallory and the coaching staff as they have been in contact even since they arrived in Morgantown. But once things picked up with West Virginia, the program had seemed to be high on his list of options given the opportunity and those connections.
Mallory took an official visit to Morgantown and was able to receive a clear idea of not only how he could fit into the community but the plans that the coaching staff has for him along the defensive line.
The Mountaineers will lose at least four of their current defensive linemen at the end of the 2025 season due to graduation and that could open the door for Mallory to potentially carve out some early time. But he has the type of skill set that could lend itself to seeing time in the future especially given his versatility.
Alabama has been a recruiting area that this coaching staff has placed an emphasis on and those efforts have paid off with a pledge from a talented and productive defensive lineman.
Recruiting the position:
Mallory is the first true defensive lineman in the 2026 recruiting class but he won’t be the last. The Mountaineers are involved with several other options in the current cycle and that total should continue to increase as the program finds the best fits at the various positions.
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