WVU goes back to familiar place for latest addition Esdale

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When in doubt, turn to the now defunct Eastern Christian Academy.

Stay with me, it makes sense.

The Elkton, Maryland, private school that featured a completely on-line based curriculum had been kind to the West Virginia football program from the time its doors opened until they closed in 2016.

That’s because despite what it lacked in size, the program made up for it in raw talent on the football field.

The school was founded by the father current wide receiver David Sills and long with the Biletnikoff finalist has produced fellow former Mountaineers such as Wendell Smallwood and Daikiel Shorts.

But even after the school closed its doors, it keeps on giving back with players that played on the team such as Leddie Brown, Randy Fields and USC graduate transfer Kenny Bigelow all signing last year.

The Mountaineers have pulled quite a bit of talent out of the school.

Turns out there is at least one more to the fold.

Isaiah Esdale, a 6-foot-1, 203-pound, wide receiver has joined the football program with three years to play three remaining in his college career. He is immediately eligible.

He spent last season with Eastern Arizona, same junior college as the Brown brothers and hauled in a total of 10 passes for 319 yards and a three touchdowns on the offensive side. A predominantly run-based team, for the year the Gila Monsters completed 28 passes.

A versatile athlete, Esdale also spent time on the defensive side where he recorded four tackles and had two interceptions including one for a touchdown.

“Interesting story really. He’s an Eastern Christian kid and I think if you look back at our success rate with Eastern Christian kids it’s been high,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “So he’s a part of all those guys.”

Originally a class of 2016 recruit, Esdale falls in-between the other players that have signed with West Virginia over the years in regards to his age but is now in school in Morgantown.

“He kind of got lost in the shuffle a bit,” Holgorsen said.

Because he just arrived, Esdale has yet to participate in a meeting or have the coaches really get a look at him on person but on film they saw a player that is interesting for several reasons.

“Big, physical and can catch everything. Typical he needs to get better with technique and everything but we can get on an accelerated plan to get that fixed,” wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier said.

It remains to be seen how much or if he can help this coming year, but the physical tools are there.

“Typically receivers are pretty easy to get game ready especially when you have two weeks to prep and we can get him in a little package but I have to see him,” offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said. “He looks the part, let’s see if he can walk the walk now.”

Carrier had some discussions with him but credits that connection to some of his former teammates for getting an evaluation and building a bond in order to get things rolling.

“They had a great high school coach that was really tough on them and it’s no different than here,” Carrier said. “And that’s no different from here.”

Holgorsen believes that overall recruiting is going well for West Virginia and if the Mountaineers bank their allotted 25 in December they will be close to approaching the 85 limit.

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