West Virginia needed to remake the wide receiver room this off-season and the coaching staff has taken some major steps toward making that a reality.
The Mountaineers have lost three of the top five pass catchers from a season ago, either due to graduation or the transfer portal, which meant that the position was a focus.
Gone with the departures of Hudson Clement to Illinois, Traylon Ray to the transfer portal, Justin Robinson to graduation were a combined 95 catches, 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Out of the top five in terms of production, only Preston Fox and Rodney Gallagher are set to return to Morgantown and they 38 catches for 419 yards and 3 scores last season.
That meant getting to work securing pass-catching options and so far so good on that front with a number of additions to the room.
West Virginia has been able to add nine wide receivers from the transfer portal with Jacksonville State transfer Cam Vaughn, Youngstown State transfer Cyrus Traugh, Eastern Michigan transfer Oran Singleton, Idaho State wide receiver Jeff Weimer, Slippery Rock wide receiver Logan Ramper, Jacksonville State transfer Jarod Bowie, North Carolina wide receiver Christian Hamilton, South Carolina State wide receiver Justin Smith-Brown and Jacksonville State wide receiver Jordan McCants.
Some of those were able to participate in spring, while others have been added since the second transfer portal window opened.
Vaughn, 6-foot-2, 191-pounds, was the leading receiver for Jacksonville State in 2024, where he hauled in 49 catches for 804 yards and 5 touchdowns. The redshirt freshman started his career as a quarterback but made the move to wide receiver and appeared in three games in his first year before taking off in his second.
The Georgia native follows his head coach Rich Rodriguez to Morgantown, where he brings a big, athletic skill set to the wide receiver room, where he has proven the ability to make contested catches and make people miss as well as get yards after the catch.
Weimer, 6-foot-2, 204-pounds, is a wide receiver who has been highly productive on a per-snap basis at as a seasoned option that could plat either inside or outside for the Mountaineers. Weimer started his career at the junior college level at Hartnell College, where he caught 78 passes for 1,040 yards and 11 touchdowns. He then moved to City College of San Francisco, where he had 75 receptions for 1,253 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Weimer would sign with UNLV where he appeared in seven games and recorded 26 catches for 278 yards and a score. The California native then moved to Idaho State where he had 75 grabs for 1,016 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2024. Weimer should have one year left in his career to make an impact with the Mountaineers.
Ramper, 6-foot-4, 215-pounds, entered the transfer portal April 30 and that quickly led to an official visit to Morgantown May 2 and his eventual commitment.
The Pennsylvania product spent three years with the Slippery Rock football program where he appeared in 28 contests and he recorded 74 catches, 1,165 yards and 14 touchdowns. This past season, Ramper caught 42 passes for 748 yards and 8 touchdowns and he has one season remaining.
Traugh, 6-foot-0, 180-pounds, is a Parkersburg native and former Parkersburg South standout, who spent two seasons at Youngstown State. He appeared in only two games during his first year with the program and redshirted but then appeared in 12 games and hauled in 36 catches for 409 yards and 5 touchdowns while earning FCS freshman all-American honors.
Traugh has three years of eligibility remaining in his career and returns home to the Mountain State, where he will look to take advantage of the opportunity. He could play outside or in the slot.
Singleton, 5-foot-9, 164-pounds, is a different type of wide receiver as a slot body that hauled in 64 catches for 639 yards and a pair of touchdowns last season. He also had 23 rushing yards on 6 carries.
The Florida native started his career at Akron but also spent time at Hutchinson C.C. He has one year of eligibility remaining in his career and should be able to factor in from the jump.
Smith-Brown, 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, spent three seasons with the Bulldogs where he hauled in a total of 81 catches for 1,196 yards and 7 touchdowns. That included this past season, where Smith-Brown hauled in a total of 54 catches for 749 yards and 4 touchdowns.
He appeared across 724 snaps and a total of 1,345 in his career at South Carolina State and has one year remaining in his career.
Hamilton, 6-foot-0, 190-pounds, committed to the program once the spring portal window opened and spent two years with the Tar Heels. In his first year in Chapel Hill he hauled in three catches for 20 yards across three games and that production increased to seven catches for 159 yards and a touchdown across eight games as a sophomore. He appeared in 248 snaps across those two seasons.
He has three years remaining.
McCants, 5-foot-11, 173-pounds, redshirted during his first season with the Gamecocks after appearing in just three games without any statistics. The following year, McCants played in 12 games with one catch for 28 yards. Last season, McCants made his biggest impact with 15 catches for 146 yards.
Over his career, McCants has appeared across 509 snaps and has two years left.
Finally, Bowie, 5-foot-9, 160-pounds, is another former in-state product that brings speed to the unit. Bowie was a standout wide receiver at Martinsburg and out of high school committed to Concord.
There, he would put together a massive season in 2022 where he hauled in 102 catches for 1,773 yards and 18 touchdowns and was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy. Bowie then moved onto Jacksonville State where he spent two seasons and appeared in 17 games. This past season, Bowie appeared in all 14 games and recorded 13 catches for 209 yards. He has two years remaining.
Each of those outside Weimer, Ramper, Smith-Brown, Hamilton and McCants participated in spring ball to get a head start on their careers in Morgantown.
The new coaching staff inherited a wide receiver room in flux, but has already addressed the position rather aggressively.
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