WVSports.com takes a trip down memory lane and takes a look at current Houston players that at one time were recruited by West Virginia. We’ll examine their recruitments as well as how they have turned out in college.

So without any further waiting, which Cougars were once West Virginia targets on the recruiting trail?

West Virginia made Brown a priority down the stretch of his recruitment in the 2020 class and worked hard to flip his commitment from Central Florida. He would take an official visit to Morgantown and his recruitment would explode down the stretch with Florida and Georgia both entering with scholarship offers. Still, his relationship with Travis Trickett proved to be critical and he would select the Mountaineers over his other options when the early signing day opened. Brown played only nine games during his two seasons in Morgantown with one start and collected just 10 catches for 108 yards. Fell behind on the depth chart and elected to enter the transfer portal where he ended up at Houston. This past season he had 41 catches for 471 yards and 4 touchdowns and has now stepped into a much larger role in his second year with the Cougars as he leads the team in receiving yards and is a key player on the roster.

O'Laughlin was originally recruited by none other than former West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen when he was with the Mountaineers. The big-bodied pass catcher maintained his commitment to the program after first exploring a transfer when Brown initially took the job, but elected to stay in Morgantown. Emerged as the starting tight end for the Mountaineers during his time at West Virginia but dealt with a rash of injuries including three separate season-ending ACLs. Played in 32 games and was productive as a pass catcher and blocker when on the field with 37 catches for 292 yards and a touchdown during that time. After his most recent ACL injury, O'Laughlin entered the transfer portal for real this time and eventually committed to Houston.

Mathis spent four seasons at West Virginia and made 11 total starts during that time as a piece in the backfield. The Orlando native put together his best season to date in his final year in Morgantown with 562 yards and 5 touchdowns. Mathis was expected to return as a veteran in the backfield but elected to enter his name into the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with two years left. He would eventually commit to Houston where he would connect with his one-time coach Dana Holgorsen and now will square off against the Mountaineers.

A junior college prospect from California, West Virginia got involved late with Guzman in June of 2019 and the Mountaineers offered a scholarship led by the efforts of then defensive coordinator Vic Koenning. Guzman would take an official visit to Morgantown in the summer and would later commit to the program. He was under recruited because he made the switch to the defensive side the year prior at the junior college level and would play safety for the Mountaineers. Played in nine games during his lone season in Morgantown and recorded 24 tackles and a fumble recovery. He used a redshirt season in 2021 and then in 2022 appeared in 13 games where he recorded 5 tackles. Has two years left in his career and is in the mix at safety for the Cougars.

The Texas native spent three seasons at Wyoming in a run-based offense but was still productive recording 60 catches for 652 yards and 3 touchdowns. Entered into the transfer portal with two years left and West Virginia was one of the schools that jumped into the mix early with a scholarship offer. However, the pull of Houston was too much to overcome and he elected to commit to the Cougars.

Willis was a two-time recruit for West Virginia first as a high school prospect out of Virginia and then as a transfer when he took a visit to Morgantown in order to check out the program after entering the portal. That never materialized and Willis would eventually commit to Houston. He appeared in 4 games in 2022 and recorded a total of 3 tackles from his role as a linebacker.

Ugo jumped onto the West Virginia radar when he was at Blinn C.C. where he received a scholarship offer from secondary coach ShaDon Brown. A full-qualifier out of high school, the Mountaineers jumped into the mix in April of 2022 but was unable to get him to campus for an official visit. He would commit to Houston. Did not record any stats during his first season with the Cougars.

Tucker is a name that crossed paths with West Virginia multiple times. First camping in a one-day event and then again at the junior college level where he emerged as an interesting prospect at Hutchinson. The Mountaineers offered a scholarship when defensive line coach AJ Jackson jumped into the mix for the possible late addition as a bandit but things really never materialized after that. Tucker played in just three games in 2022 and recorded only a single tackle during that time.

Benton was an early scholarship offer by West Virginia and the Mountaineers were consistent in his recruitment from the start. A highly talented defensive lineman, Benton blew up early into his recruitment but cooled off some prior to the start of his senior year. That summer defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley took the lead in his recruitment and was able to get him to campus for an official visit in June. He would weigh his options but elect to commit to the Mountaineers and it appeared to be a done deal. He maintained that pledge throughout the process until late visits to both Texas and Houston appeared to put some things in doubt. Texas elected to move onto other targets, but Houston was able to pull a signing day surprise by flipping his pledge largely due to the connections he had with Doug Belk on the staff. Benton will be a true freshman this fall for the Cougars and is yet another connection to the program.

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