WVU signs four players at mid-year

Scranton (Pa.) Lackawanna C.C. wide receiver Kevin White was so anxious to ink his letter of intent to West Virginia that the junior college prospect set his alarm for 7 a.m. Wednesday.

"I wanted to get it in as soon as possible. The commitment is not official until you sign the papers and with me signing them it was just a relief and a weight off my shoulders," he said.

West Virginia signed four junior college prospects on the first day of the signing period with White, El Dorado (Kan.) Butler County C.C. running back Dreamius Smith and a pair of teammates from Fulton (Miss.) Itawamba C.C. in safety Terrell Pinson and wide receiver Ronald Carswell inking.

The act of signing with a school is often one that junior college prospects cherish because of what they've been through to get to that point. Often players arrive at junior colleges for academics or being lightly recruited and the opportunity to make it back to Division one is the culmination of hard work.

"I've been waiting for this moment to come for a while now," Carswell said. "I just need to keep my head on straight and work hard to be a better player and teammate."

Pinson went from a preferred walk-on at Mississippi State to the JUCO ranks, only to find himself signing with West Virginia. It's a transition and opportunity he never expected, but appreciates through his prior experiences.

"I'm just glad, very glad to have this opportunity. That's all anybody needs is an opportunity and its then their job to take full advantage of that," he said. "That's what I plan on doing."

The real work is only now beginning though, because each of these players must adjust to college football and then attempt to make their dent on the depth chart with limited eligibility remaining for each.

"My focus is just being a great player on and off the field but also in the classroom. Without doing the work and being a great student I won't have the opportunity to be a great player on the field," White said. "I just want to be an asset."