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West Virginia fired their head coach just a few short days before the start of the early signing period which meant plenty of uncertainty on just what Wednesday would look like.
The end result probably couldn’t have gone any better.
The Mountaineers signed all 19 of the players that remained on their commitment list and even added two more in highly regarded prospects with Columbus (Oh.) Marion Franklin 2025 cornerback Dawayne Galloway choosing the Mountaineers and Bel Air (Md.) 2025 safety Julien Horton flipping from North Carolina.
Comparing that to where things were Sunday with most of the recruits that commented on the decision initially either opening up their recruitment while remaining committed or backing off their pledge completely it’s quite the shift in such a short period of time.
The Mountaineers coaching staff as well as recruiting coordinators Trey Neyer and Ken Signoretti along with their staff played a critical role in keeping the class together. It’s a monumental effort in a short period of time, but the group was able to effectively limit the overall damage and hold most of the class together.
The staff had the calendar on their side with the dead period in effect which limited visit opportunities, but this was earned on the work done by the group as well as the trust that the players had in the program.
It’s a difficult ask for coaches who are dealing with uncertainty over their own job statuses with a new head coach set to take over the program in the coming weeks, but they were more than up to the task.
West Virginia was able to sign 21 prospects Wednesday, which is significantly more than their power four counterparts who also are going through head coaching changes. Out of that list, UCF signed seven, Purdue signed only six players and North Carolina only inked six on the day.
There is trust there from the prospects as well who had to buy into a future vision of the program that isn’t clear at this point in time. Many of them had other options, but the large majority elected to remain.
It’s a strong foundation to build upon for the future with so much uncertainty when it comes to what the eventual roster will look like and what a potential new coach could eventually bring with him. And it’s almost unheard of when you consider the overall feelings Sunday when Neal Brown was fired.
West Virginia has probably had splashier signing days or more overall quality in certain classes, but the 2025 group is one that will stand out for a lot of different reasons.
What was initially set out to be a day filled with plenty of questions quickly became quite optimistic at least when it comes to the future of the West Virginia football program.
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