West Virginia safety recuiting about needs, fit

West Virginia craves versatility at the safety position more than any other spot on the field.

While some schools fit players into certain spots before they get on campus, the Mountaineers target “mutts,” so to speak that can end up filling any of the three spots in the defensive scheme. West Virginia utilizes a bandit, free and SPUR safety on the field at once and pursues those players that can fit into any of those spots as they develop at the college level, safeties coach Matt Caponi said.

“All of them are really good football players, they’re all athletic. We don’t have just a SPUR that can play SPUR. It’s intriguing because of the versatility and we can mix and match,” he said.

Safety was a primary target position in the 2017 class and the Mountaineers took a total of six in the recruiting class to address needs in the secondary. One in Derrek Pitts is already enrolled in school while the five remaining are expected to arrive during the summer.

“It’s allowing us to have the depth and mix and match to move guys around,” he said.

While each of them are likely to move around during the course of their careers, they have set spots for each of them to begin. Pitts is slated for bandit, Eugene Brown at free, Ricky Johns at SPUR, Exree Loe at bandit, Collin Smith a free and Kenny Robinson at free safety.

Each of those players stood out to the coaches in large part because they all stood out on film exceling on both sides of the ball which isn’t common at the high school level.

“These kids love the game of football and they compete and work hard,” Caponi said.

Robinson is a prospect that stood out early to the West Virginia coaches because of his overall athleticism and what he can do on the field.

“He’s a freak. What he can bring to the table over the next four to five years will be second to none. He can put on an easy 10-15 pounds and get stronger and faster,” Caponi said.

Caponi isn’t ruling out the possibility of any of the six making their way onto the depth chart this coming fall and has had conversations with each of them about the prospects of that. While there are three set starters at the safety spots, there is room for each to carve out roles on defense or special teams.

“They all fit what we do,” Caponi said.