The West Virginia football program has added to the future defensive line with a commitment from Upper Marlboro (Md.) Wise 2025 defensive end Taylor Brown.
Brown, 6-foot-4, 250-pounds, picked the Big 12 Conference program over scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, Boston College, Memphis, Temple, James Madison and Marshall among others.
The defensive lineman moved onto the Mountaineers radar in April when he took an unofficial visit to campus and earned a scholarship offer from defensive line coach AJ Jackson. From there, things only continued to build between the pair leading to his return to campus for an official visit June 7-9.
West Virginia is targeting Brown as a defensive end and likes how he displays the ability to rush off the edge. As a junior, Brown recorded 11.5 tackles for loss for Wise High School.
Brown gives West Virginia their first defensive line commitment in the 2025 recruiting class and now represents the 12th prospect to pick the Mountaineers in the current cycle.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Brown and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Brown has good size and uses his hands well to defeat blockers and disrupt plays in the backfield. Possesses good strength and once he is able to get his hands on a ball carrier usually takes them to the ground. He has a good motor and plays to the whistle which is a quality that is critical up front.
The talented defensive lineman also displays the versatility to move around to various spots up front which is what the Mountaineers are searching for when it comes to filling those positions. Has the type of frame that you want to add even more size and strength. While his best football is ahead of him, it’s easy to see why Brown became a prospect that moved onto the radar for the Mountaineers.
Fitting the program:
Brown was a later addition for West Virginia in terms of jumping into the mix, but the Mountaineers were able to quickly make up ground and surge to the forefront of his recruitment. That comfort level was key in his decision-making process and that along with his fit in the program and how he would be utilized.
The program will have seven scholarship players that can fill roles at defensive end when Brown arrives on campus but will need to replace some key pieces. He is going to need to continue to develop like most additions up front but there is a pathway for him to carve out a role if he proves ready for that workload.
West Virginia continues to successfully target the state of Maryland in recent classes led by the efforts of the coaching staff and Brown is just another to follow that path.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia is actively targeting a number of other options across the various spots on the defensive line with some of those being Opa Locka (Fla.) Monsignor Pace 2025 defensive end Wilnerson Telemaque, Cleveland Heights (Oh.) 2025 defensive lineman Brandon Caesar, Cleveland Heights (Oh.) 2025 defensive lineman Jayquan Stubbs, Dandridge (Tn.) Jefferson County 2025 defensive lineman Nic Moore and Nashville (Tn.) Lipscomb Academy 2025 defensive lineman Amir Leonard-Jean Charles. Each of those have already visited Morgantown and there are several others that could make their way to Morgantown for the final visit weekend of the summer.
Expect West Virginia to take at least three to four more in order to round out recruiting on the defensive front.
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