The West Virginia Mountaineers football program has continued its recent run on the recruiting trail with a commitment from Bixby (Okla.) 2026 defensive back Emory Snyder.
Snyder, 6-foot-4, 205-pounds, picked the Mountaineers over a list of scholarship offers including Washington State, San Diego State, North Texas, Arkansas State, Colorado State, New Mexico and more.
The Rivals.com three-star prospect received a scholarship offer Feb. 13 and things only continued to develop with nickels/sams coach Henry Weinreich serving as the lead recruiter.
That led to a visit to Morgantown March 10 where he was able to get an up-close look at the Mountaineers and how he could fit into the football program. From there, Snyder took some time to weigh his options before committing to the West Virginia football program a month later.
Snyder is being targeted as a defensive back in the West Virginia defensive scheme with the ability to move around to multiple positions. He is coming off a junior season where he recorded 45 tackles, 14 pass breakups, 6 interceptions and a forced fumble.
Snyder is the fifth commitment for West Virginia in the 2026 recruiting cycle and represents the first that is slated to play on the defensive side of the ball.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Snyder and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Snyder is a versatile defensive back that could slide into several different roles at the college level. He already has plus size and runs well given that displaying plus ability in coverage.
A cornerback at the high school level, Snyder possesses excellent length and understanding of how to play the football in the air as evidenced by his six interceptions this past season. Given his size, Snyder is a physical option and isn’t bashful when it comes to delivering a big hit. He is a willing tackler and plays with a physical element that the Mountaineers want out of their secondary pieces.
Given his speed, versatility and size Snyder is an ideal fit for the nickel position in the West Virginia defense but he is going to have his cracks at other spots as well. This is a plus pickup for the Mountaineers.
Fitting the program:
Snyder isn’t a new name on the West Virginia recruiting board as the coaching staff targeted him early upon arriving and things have only further built from that point forward. He has been to campus already and is slated to return for an official visit in June. West Virginia made it a priority to target Snyder, and those efforts were rewarded with an early commitment out of the versatile defensive back.
Oklahoma hasn’t been a hotbed of recruiting for the Mountaineers over the years, but it’s a sign that the coaching staff is going to recruit areas they are comfortable with to get the best talent available. Snyder is going to enter a defensive back room that should be losing a lot of pieces with the number of seniors on the roster and that is going to open up chances for him to make a dent early in his career.
The 2026 class continues to come together and Snyder is just another key piece to those early efforts.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia doesn’t even have the current roster settled at this stage, forget what the possibilities will be on the recruiting trail but it’s a certainty that Snyder won’t be the only addition for the Mountaineers in the secondary. The program has been active targeting all of the different spots in the backend and it’s safe to assume that the coaching staff is going to be adding a number of others.
That should heat up more and the picture becomes clearer once the official visit season gets underway, with a list of talented defensive backs expected to make their way to campus.
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