Prelude To A Countdown: Signing Day 2008

Signing day is exactly 8 days away.

Officially, our week-long signing day special, succinctly titled "Countdown To The 2008 WBGV Scintillating Succulent Signing Day Spectacular," will begin tomorrow. But today, we present to you a prelude to that countdown. A primer, if you will. That makes this "The Prelude To The Countdown To The 2008 WBGV Scintillating Succulent Signing Day Spectacular," or TPTTCTT2008WBGVSSSDS for short.

First, let's get the current commitments out of the way. Instead of listing these individually, which would be a complete waste of my time, I will simply point you in the direction of the commitment list here or here. That should get you acquainted with those solidly on-board.

Of that list, only FL WR J.D. Woods seems to be potentially wavering on his verbal. In the end, however, we feel he will ultimately stay true to his commitment. Also, Jerome Swinton is out of the picture, apparently having had his scholarship offer revoked.

So, minus those two players, we currently have 16 solid commitments. Numbers-wise, we can take a full class of 25, and everything HCBS has said points us towards trying to do exactly that. Though, with the Rodriguez setback and staff turnover, a class of around 22 is more likely.

Who will that class include? Well, I'm glad you asked:

Likely To Sign

• JD Woods, WR (Florida)


• Tevita Finau, DE (JC -- Arizona)


• Aki Vakalahi (JC -- Arizona)

This isn't a very long list. Unfortunately, Rodriguez's departure hasn't left a lot of cemented minds on WVU's radar. A lot of kids are high on us but we may not know whether that trigger is pulled until next Wednesday. Though only three-deep, this is still a strong group. The Arizona duo of Finau and Vakalahi would be a coup for WVU. With two teammates already signed with WVU, they should both follow.

Somewhere Between 75/25 and 25/75:

• Josh Jenkins, G (West Virginia)


• Kevin Whaley, CB (Virginia)


• Greg Shaw, OT (Florida)


• Jatavious Miller, LB (Florida)


• Marcus Davis, QB/WR (Virginia)


• Randall Dunn, WR (Virginia)


• Martavious Odoms, WR (Florida)

Jenkins is obviously the #1 priority out of this group. Even if he doesn't turn out to be the best player on this list, landing the top in-state recruit in years is imperative for this new staff. His recent comments have me a little more optimistic, looking more like we're better than a 50/50 shot.

Outside of Jenkins, Whaley is the likeliest of recruits. He, Jenkins, and two of the next 5 would be a good haul, especially if we can secure the services of a play-making WR like Davis, Dunn, or Odoms.

Need A Late Push:

• Travis Kelce, QB (Ohio)


• Jaron Brown, WR (South Carolina)


• Coley White, QB/WR (Alabama)


• Leonard Johnson, CB (Florida)


• Steve Gardiner, LB (Ohio)

It's strange seeing Coley White on this list, but all signs point to him taking a scholarship to play QB at Central Michigan (remember our old friend Butch Jones?). The real wildcard is Travis Kelce, who by most accounts was firmly committed to Cincinnati up until a few weeks ago. Lately, though, West Virginia's chances have improved greatly.

The good news about a lot of guys on this list is that Morgantown is their last recruiting stop before signing day. If we're going to be getting in late on these guys, and we have on most, we might as well be the last campus they see. Create a fantastic impression and there's not enough time after the visit for other teams to recruit against us.

As I said, we'll be updating this list each day for the next week, running right into signing day. Stay tuned.