West Virginia placing an emphasis in recruiting DMV
The West Virginia football program is being active in trying to reconnect and utilize a talent-rich pipeline that has been good to the Mountaineers over the years in the DMV.
The DMV or the area encompassing Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia is filled with plenty of power five level prospects and the Mountaineers have been active in targeting them over the past two recruiting classes.
It’s a welcomed change considering the program had only landed two players from the region in the prior three recruiting classes combined before last year.
So, West Virginia is attempting to get firmly back into the mix there and it’s been working.
Last season the Mountaineers landed five from the region and already at this stage of the process the coaching staff has commitments from a trio of prospects in Olney (Md.) Good Counsel 2025 offensive lineman Gavin Crawford, Olney (Md.) Good Counsel 2025 offensive lineman Eidan Buchanan and Upper Marlboro (Md.) Wise 2025 defensive lineman Taylor Brown.
Crawford, 6-foot-4, 300-pounds, narrowed his list down to West Virginia, Florida, Syracuse, Maryland and Duke in May March but also held a long list of scholarships from other schools including Georgia, UCLA, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Boston College and a number of others.
“I love West Virginia, the atmosphere and the coaching staff,” he said.
Buchanan, 6-foot-8, 325-pounds, selected the Mountaineers over a list of finalists that also included Maryland, Rutgers, Kentucky and Wisconsin. And while his family was originally from the West Virginia area, the Mountaineers still had to beat out a number of high-level options.
The combination of Crawford and Buchanan in this cycle along with Kyle Altuner in the last gives the Mountaineers three highly regarded linemen from Good Counsel in the past two years.
Brown, 6-foot-4, 250-pounds, held other options from Pittsburgh and Boston College but the Mountaineers surged to the forefront of his list after receiving an offer after an unofficial visit and the coaching staff closed the deal following his official visit to campus in June.
The effort has been a push from secondary coach ShaDon Brown along with several others such as defensive line coach AJ Jackson in building bonds and connections with those prospects. That starts things, but then the trick is getting them to campus in order to see things for themselves and adjust their expectations.
West Virginia is obviously a different type of atmosphere than what many in the area are accustomed to, but Morgantown offers a different vibe that also can be attractive to those players.
The Mountaineers also remain involved with several others from the region such as Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal defensive back Terrance Edwards, North Potomac (Md.) Quince Orchard defensive back Aydan West, Berlin (Md.) Stephen Decatur safety Davin Chandler, Towson (Md.) Concordia Prep outside linebacker Sidney Stewart and Brandywine (Md.) Gwynn Park defensive lineman Aubrey Melvin.
Each of those prospects has already taken an official visit to Morgantown and lists the Big 12 Conference program among their options entering a critical stretch in recruiting. No, West Virginia won’t get them all but even landing a few more would go a long way toward driving those stakes down further.
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