The West Virginia Mountaineers football program continues to remake the roster and has added a young cornerback to the position room with the transfer of Appalachian State cornerback Nick Taylor.
Taylor, 6-foot-1, 185-pounds, spent just one season with the Mountaineers where he appeared in the final seven games and even started one as a true freshman.
The cornerback prospect finished the season with 10 tackles and one pass breakup across a total of 147 snaps over the course of the 2024 campaign.
Taylor gives West Virginia a young cornerback option that already has experience under his belt and will step into a situation where he can compete with some of the older options on the roster.
The Georgia native entered the transfer portal April 15 and committed to the program only a few days later. There is an obvious connection here as well with former Appalachian State cornerbacks coach Rod West now holding the same post in Morgantown.
Overall, Taylor is the fifth true transfer cornerback addition from the portal for the Mountaineers joining Nevada transfer Michael Coates, Akron transfer Devonte Golden-Nelson, Jacksonville State transfer Derek Carter and Appalachian State transfer Jason Chambers.
Taylor has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
WVSports.com breaks down the transfer addition of Taylor and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
The data:
It’s a limited sample size for Taylor as he only played a total of 147 snaps over the course of his seven games as a true freshman for the other Mountaineers. A total of 83 of those were spent in coverage where he 11 catches when targeted over 14 opportunities for 89 yards and a touchdown with one pass breakup.
Taylor played on both sides at cornerback during his lone season but spent the majority of his time at wide corner playing a total of 139 of his total snaps.
The young cornerback was an effective tackler and didn’t miss a single one in his opportunities.
Fitting the program:
The cornerback room was hit hard by attrition after the spring and while the Mountaineers still have a total of nine others on the roster that can play the position the program will lose five of those after the season as well as some other key pieces in the secondary. That means that while Taylor will be in the mix to compete for time in year one, there could be a pathway for significant snaps in the coming seasons with three years remaining.
Taylor also has some familiarity with West so that should only help with the overall transition as well.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia still is likely to target at least one more cornerback in the room in order to create some competition and depth, but that number could end up being more from the transfer ranks.
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