Wheaton picks West Virginia

Holly Springs (N.C.) wide receiver Bryce Wheaton followed in the footsteps of many others in his family before him by committing to West Virginia Wednesday evening.

Wheaton, 6-foot-3, 200-pounds, is the grandson of former Mountaineers standout Garrett Ford, Sr., while his uncle Garrett Ford, Jr. as well as both of his parents attended West Virginia. He even lived in Morgantown himself for eight years prior to moving to the Tarheel State.

“It’s always been my dream school. I definitely feel like the family aspect would be a factor because I could be a third generation football player,” he said at the time of his offer.

The Mountaineers entered the picture with a scholarship offer in mid-May during the evaluation period and immediately moved to one of the top schools in his recruitment.

Defensive line coach Bruce Tall served as the lead recruiter for Wheaton and maintained contact while wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier also played a pivotal role in the pursuit of him.

Wheaton visited West Virginia on an unofficial trip in June and was impressed with the campus as well as the plan that the coaching staff had for him. He spent time with head coach Dana Holgorsen as well as Carrier and the coaches made him feel as if he was a priority.

The standout prospect also was able to meet with the both the academic and the strength staff during his time on campus in order to get a comprehensive look at the football program.

That visit was enough to help secure his commitment and bring an end to a recruitment that had started to blossom in recent weeks with a number of power five offers as well as an impressive performance at the Florida State one-day camp earlier in the month of June.

A big-bodied wide receiver, Wheaton also is equipped with plus speed and is able to create separation as well as going over top of defensive backs to make catches down the field. He also has the ability to play on the defensive side and earned first team all-conference with his efforts there.

The Rivals.com three-star athlete also held offers from Louisville, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Washington State, East Carolina and a number of others as well as receiving strong interest from Florida State.

Overall, Wheaton becomes the eighth commitment for West Virginia in the 2018 class and represents the fourth pledge for the Mountaineers on the offensive side.

WVSports.com will have more with Wheaton and his decision in the near future.