West Virginia has landed a commitment from Tampa (Fla.) Gaither 2025 cornerback Serious Stinyard.

Stinyard, 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, had narrowed his list of options down to West Virginia, Minnesota and Kansas State after officially visiting each of those programs.

The Rivals.com three-star prospect also held scholarship offers from a number of other schools including North Carolina State, Kentucky, Kansas and South Florida.

Offensive coordinator Chad Scott served as the lead recruiter for Stinyard, but secondary coach ShaDon Brown also played a key role in his process as the position coach. The Mountaineers just got involved with Stinyard during the evaluation period, but things moved quickly between the two.

West Virginia is slotting Stinyard as a cornerback who can lock down wide receivers on the outside and consistently find the football when it’s in the air. He recorded a total of 19 tackles, three interceptions and five passes defended in 11 games last fall.

Overall, Stinyard becomes the fifth commitment for West Virginia in the defensive backfield behind Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork 2025 cornerback Elgin Sessions, Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal 2025 defensive back Terrance “Deuce” Edwards, Lakeland (Fla.) 2025 defensive back Sammy Etienne and Huntington (W.Va.) 2025 safety Zah Jackson. He is the 15th pledge overall for the Mountaineers in the current cycle.

WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Stinyard and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.

Skill set:

Stinyard has the right combination of speed and size to end up as an outside cornerback in the West Virginia defensive scheme. He runs very well and displays the ability to cover wide receivers on the edge. Stinyard has plus ball skills and has the hips to effectively handle his responsibilities at cornerback.

His size is going to allow him to match up against bigger options and his length can be effective when it comes to that as well. He also isn’t afraid to tackle, which is a plus for cornerbacks at this stage.

Stinyard is going to need to continue to fill out his frame but has the skill set that could make him a potentially strong addition to this class and it’s no surprise so many programs were jumping into the mix.

Fitting the program:

Stinyard will fill a need for West Virginia at outside cornerback and is a good fit for what the program wants at that spot in the defense. Stinyard will enter a program that will have several key pieces exiting through graduation after this coming season and that could open up opportunities for him to see the field early in his career if the proves up to the task. After this year the Mountaineers will have six scholarship options on the roster not including the rest of the current recruiting class and Stinyard fills a need outside.

The talented defensive back wasn’t on the West Virginia radar for as long as some other targets but quickly moved up the board and became a priority for the Mountaineers.

The addition of Stinyard also is another option from the state of Florida which has long been a pipeline to the West Virginia football program, and this is just the latest example of that unfolding.

Recruiting the position:

Even with several already in the fold, West Virginia is still going to be targeting defensive backs in this class as it is a position that could see even more added. There also is the possibility that Jackson doesn’t end up on defense and instead slots elsewhere.

Although with the addition of Stinyard it is unclear if anymore cornerbacks will be in the mix or those efforts will be focused on other remaining spots.

Potential remaining targets include Columbus (Oh.) Marion Franklin 2025 cornerback Dawayne Galloway, Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna defensive back Cam Strong, Cincinnati (Oh.) Winton Woods 2025 athlete Seaonta Stewart and Chattanooga (Tn.) McCallie School 2025 safety Carson Lawrence. Each of those prospects have already visited West Virginia and lists the Mountaineers among their top options.

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