West Virginia Mountaineers: Commitment 101: Daiveon Taylor
Pittsburgh (Pa.) Aliquippa linebacker Daiveon Taylor became the first commitment for West Virginia in the 2026 class and it’s a big one for the foundation of the class.
Taylor, 6-foot-2, 210-pounds, picked the Mountaineers over other scholarship offers from Penn State, Pittsburgh, Maryland and Syracuse largely due to his comfort level with the school.
Inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz served as the lead recruiter for Taylor and developed a close connection that was only further reinforced by the number of times he was on campus.
The Rivals.com three-star prospect was a frequent visitor to Morgantown including a pair of visits in a week’s span prior to his commitment to the program at the Gold-Blue game. The Mountaineers first offered Taylor in the spring of 2023.
West Virginia made Taylor a priority and that ended up pushing the program to the front of the line in his recruitment. The versatile linebacker could fill a role at either the inside or outside positions in the scheme depending on how he continues to develop over the next two years.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Taylor and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both and in the future.
Skill set:
For a 2026 prospect, Taylor possesses great size and length which allows him to cause disruption off the edge in the backfield. He is equipped with plus speed for his size and is able to run down ball carriers and shows the strength to handle some of the traffic near the line of scrimmage.
Taylor is only going to continue to get better but has the right combinations that you want to see out of an outside linebacker and seems to possess good feet and agility. That athleticism is on display with him being able to flex out and even catch passes on the offensive side of the ball.
He understands how to use his hands in pass-rushing situations and has the strength to create havoc along with the speed to create pressure off the edge.
Taylor is going to need to continue to refine his game but his toolbox is one that is exciting for a number of reasons given what he brings to the table and how much time is left until he enrolls.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia has made it a point to try to establish a recruiting foothold in Western, Pennsylvania and has been able to do just that in the past two cycles. The Mountaineers were able to land Taylor’s former teammate Jason Cross in the 2024 cycle and now have added Taylor to the mix.
Taylor is a former Bishop Canevin product but moved to Aliquippa which is a school that has produced a number of talented prospects over the years. This should only help to attract more players to give the Mountaineers a look in the future.
The Keystone State product has been to campus many times and established strong bonds which made this decision feel more concrete at this stage, if that makes sense. This doesn’t feel like it was a rushed choice as the Mountaineers have been trending for quite some time.
Recruiting the position:
It’s so early in the recruiting process that trying to pin the needs to classes away is a difficult task, but Taylor is a major building block at a position that the Mountaineers have been replenishing in recent classes. West Virginia is likely to take several more linebackers between the inside and outside spots when the dust settles on the 2026 cycle with Princeton (W.Va.) pass rusher Daniel Jennings a priority.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan
