West Virginia has added another Jacksonville State transfer with the addition of tight end Jacob Barrick.
Barrick, 6-foot-3, 235-pounds, spent three years with the Gamecocks where he appeared in 30 games and registered 9 catches for 102 yards as a pass catcher.
The Martinsburg native obviously already has familiarity with head coach Rich Rodriguez and will now join him in Morgantown.
Barrick has spent the majority of his time on the field as a run blocker and will likely reprise that role.
The tight end is the first transfer addition at his position in this cycle.
Barrick has one year of eligibility remaining in his career.
WVSports.com breaks down the transfer commitment of Barrick and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
The data:
Barrick has played a total of 614 snaps over his three years at Jacksonville State, but 428 of that was as a run blocker. He played the most snaps of his career this past season with 372 and graded out at 69.3 as a run blocker over the course of 245 snaps in that area.
Barrick has caught 9 passes for 102 yards in his career but will likely continue to be utilized as a blocker over a pure pass catching option at the tight end position.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia has had a lot of success with in-state players in the past and while Barrick didn’t start his career in Morgantown there won’t be any adjustment when it comes to the state. The talented tight end made multiple visits to campus when he was a recruit and now will have the chance to finish out his career there.
Barrick steps into a tight end room with four scholarship players already on the roster but he has experience playing under Rodriguez and there shouldn’t be any adjustment in his new location. Over his career Barrick has primarily been used as a blocking tight end and that should likely continue in Morgantown.
There’s some talent in that room but Barrick brings experience with him on the field which the rest of the group is lacking on the field. That makes the addition key in several areas.
It also presents another opportunity to bring a talented in-state player home and Barrick will be able to finish out his career with the Mountaineers after three years at Jacksonville State.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia was looking to add at least one more tight end to the roster through the transfer portal and Barrick fills that need. It’s possible that the right fit could open up another spot, but it seems unlikely that the Mountaineers will be focusing their efforts on transfer tight end options with other needs.
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