The West Virginia football program continued to add experience pieces to the secondary with a commitment from Washington transfer safety Justin Harrington.
Harrington, 6-foot-3, 209-pounds, only spent one season at Washington where he was used sparingly on the defensive side of the ball but that wasn’t the case at his previous stop Oklahoma.
The North Carolina native spent three seasons with the Sooners football program, once as a redshirt, and recorded 29 tackles and a pair of interceptions. He started two games at the Cheetah position at the start of the 2023 campaign prior to a season ending injury.
Harrington arrived at Oklahoma as one of the top junior college safeties in the country at Bakersfield College where he racked up 97 tackles and 7 interceptions over his two years with the program.
Harrington took an official visit to West Virginia Jan. 9 and committed to the Mountaineers giving the program another experienced safety option as the program looks to retool the secondary.
Harrington has one season of eligibility remaining in his college career.
Harrington becomes the seventh transfer portal defensive back addition this off-season for West Virginia but the third at safety behind Jacksonville State safety Fred Perry and UT Chattanooga safety Jordan Walker.
WVSports.com breaks down the transfer of Harrington and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
The data:
Harrington has played a total of 279 defensive snaps over the course of his four seasons at the FVS level although two of those were limited to just 4 this past year at Washington and 30 in a redshirt season at Oklahoma. In 2022, Harrington played 154 snaps and graded out at 57.7 according to PFF but saw a significant jump the following year when he started the season as the starter for the Sooners at 72.8.
Over the course of his career, Harrington has allowed just 7 receptions on 16 targets for 31 yards with a pair of interceptions without allowing a touchdown. A versatile defensive back, Harrington has played 78 snaps in the box and 56 at free safety while also spending 103 in the slot. He has even played 32 snaps at true cornerback which provides some insight into how many ways he can be utilized.
A strong tackler, Harrington has graded high in that department since his first year at Oklahoma and was at 82.4 prior to the injury that cost him the rest of 2023. This is a big, athletic safety that can do a lot.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia had only two returning safeties with much experience on the roster prior to the start of the transfer portal additions in Keke Tarnue and Israel Boyce. But Boyce is coming off a true freshman season where he appeared in just 138 snaps while Tarnue played 414 at various spots.
That meant a need in the secondary for experienced options and Harrington didn’t play a lot in 2024, but he has seen some action during his time at both Oklahoma and the junior college ranks. The versatile safety is a bigger bodied option that could fill multiple roles. Given his background and the need to add key pieces, the addition of Harrington makes a lot of sense on multiple levels.
West Virginia extended a scholarship offer Jan. 6 and he made a quick visit to campus where he would commit after spending time with the coaching staff and learning his role. Harrington has one year left and is looking to make the most of his opportunities in his final season.
Recruiting the position:
Now with three safeties out of the transfer portal with one season remaining it would appear that the Mountaineers have addressed the bulk of the needs at the position. But with a new coaching staff in tow and limited returning snaps you can’t ever truly close the door here as West Virginia has been aggressive when it comes to targeting and acquiring immediate help in the backend of the defense.
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