WVSports.com takes a trip down memory lane and takes a look at current UCF 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 Knights were once West Virginia targets on the recruiting trail?
Marshall is a Morgantown native and camped at West Virginia multiple times in high school but did not receive a scholarship offer from the program. He would sign with Kent State and develop there into a starting offensive tackle for two seasons. Marshall entered the transfer portal and while West Virginia would get involved this time did not push hard for the in-state native. Marshall took an official visit to Central Florida and signed with the Knights giving them an interesting Mountain State tie to this game. He played a key role up front in his first season.
Jackson spent one season with the Pirates where he recorded 19 tackles, 3 passes defended and 1 interception across 10 games. He entered the transfer portal and received an offer from West Virginia but ended up taking an official visit and committing to the Knights where he enrolled for spring football.
Richardson received an offer from West Virginia and even visited campus but the Mountaineers were more focused in other targets at the time. Richardson would commit to UCF and has put together a good career with 1,741 yards and 5 touchdowns. In 2023 he was the second leading rusher with 573 yards on 87 attempts.
Henderson was offered by West Virginia but outside that not much developed between the two. He committed to Central Florida in October and saw the field in 11 games as a true freshman recording a total of 10 tackles and 2 passes defended. He played in 10 games the following year and recorded 45 tackles and 3 interceptions.
The same story with this Henderson as he received an offer but never really was a serious candidate to be in the West Virginia class. Committed to Central Florida and did not record any statistics during his first year with the Knights. He appeared in six games before a season ending injury the following year and recorded 11 tackles.
Johnson held an offer from West Virginia but was originally committed to Miami before opening up his recruitment and selecting Central Florida. The Mountaineers really never made any ground up in his recruitment. Appeared in four games as a true freshman and recorded a total of 3 tackles during that time on the field. He appeared in five games the following season as a depth piece.
Bullard received an offer from West Virginia and there was definite interest at first. But things really never progressed to the point where he would visit or his recruitment would take significant steps with the Big 12 program. He would commit to Central Florida where he is playing linebacker and didn't see the field in his first year and then played in eight games with a single tackle in his second.
Hawkins had an offer from West Virginia out of high school but signed with Ohio State. He only spent one season there before entering the transfer portal and while there was interest he ended up committing to UCF.
Marshall was a target of West Virginia offensive coordinator Chad Scott in the 2023 recruiting class but things didn't really get to the point where anything could progress further. He did hold an offer but committed to UCF where he played and even made three starts as a freshman with 22 tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception.
Fox was offered by West Virginia and there was initial interest but he committed to Central Florida and enrolled there for the spring term. He is a true freshman.
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