West Virginia Mountaineers 2012 Football Recruiting Class Update: Signing Day Eve Edition

It's finally here. The day we've all been waiting for. Well, at least since the basketball team has dropped three straight games and we need a temporary distraction from roundball. At this point, the recruiting classes are pretty much set, and we have a pretty good idea of who is going to end up wearing the old gold and blue next fall. But, as always, there are some open spots yet to be filled and inevitably some last minute surprises that nobody saw coming. I've done my best to provide the news as it comes in, so I suppose this is a good time to give my predictions.

One last tidbit that changes the dynamic of the class just a bit. According to the Arizona Daily Star:

Arizona picked up two unexpected recruits Sunday when a pair of Floridians - wide receiver Clive Georges and running back J.T. Washington - verbally committed to the Wildcats' 2012 recruiting class.

Like I said yesterday, Washington was the guy I was least worried about losing. However, we don't exactly have the deepest corps of running backs in the country at this point. Does this news mean we take another RB in the class? Perhaps. Although at this late date, I'm not sure it's worth taking a kid just to fill a spot.

***UPDATE*** - WVU got a verbal from preferred walk-on D'Vontis Arnold, who should replace JT Washington.

***UPDATE2*** - Nate Smith in fact pulled his verbal and switched to Temple. Check the comments for my analysis.

Let's look at the big board and then after the jump, I'll make my predictions on how the class will round out tomorrow.

Here's the key: (number of players counting toward the 2012 class in parentheses, new additions are in italics, de-commits are in strikethru, and players who previously enrolled and de-commitments have been removed):

QB (1) - Brandon Napoleon

RB (2) - Roshard Burney, Torry Clayton, D'Vontis Arnold (walk-on)

WR (4) - Deontay McManus, Devonte Robinson, Darreall Joyner, Devonte Mathis

OL (4) - Tyler Orlosky, Tony Matteo, Will Johnson, Mark Glowinski

DL (3) - Korey Harris, Noble Nwachukwu, Christian Brown

LB (2) - Sam Lebbie, Garrett Hope

S (2) - Jarrod Harper, Nate Smith, Kimlon Dillon

CB (1) - Nana Kyeremeh

WIth 20 verbals, the Mountaineers have 5 spots left for this year's class.

• OL Adam Pankey gets one spot, I think. WVU has been after him hard since Todd Graham left Pitt. He fills a huge need for us, and fits in with the type of bigger, stronger linemen we are trying to recruit. He's been a Mountaineer lean for a while, and I think tomorrow he finally pulls the trigger.
• ATH Travares Copeland gets a spot too. It's between WVU and FIU. C'mon. I know TY Hilton picked FIU and has had a great career there, but Mario Cristobal isn't going to stick around forever. And given our style of play under Holgy, Copeland has to fit in well. I'm predicting him to ink with the good guys.
• There is a player who previously verballed to an SEC school that I'm fairly confident we get. Again, I'm hesitant to throw out a name because nothing is settled and I don't want to blow the kid's cover, but I really like our chances here. This is another one at a position of need, and if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly, he'll be joining this year's class.
• WR Joel Caleb, LB Deaysean Rippy, and LB Schyler Miles are all on our radar, and I think we end up landing one of them. I'd love to have all three, because I love their potential, but unfortunately I don't see it happening. Given the things I've read lately and the other schools involved, I think we get Rippy. Yeah, he made some comments about our fan base, but at the end of the day, he knows WVU is a better place than Pitt.
• Finally, I think there is one surprise out there that nobody is talking about. I've heard some names tossed about, but nothing with enough traction to make me comfortable giving a prediction. I'm not saying we're going to reel in some big fish at the last minute, here. This may be a kid who is a project (actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see us sign 26 and grayshirt a kid who is a project), or who is a last-minute replacement at a position where we lost a verbal to another school (RB or CB). I just don't know.

So that's what I see. Who are you predicting? Is there anyone I haven't mentioned who you'd like to see in this class? Are you worried about losing anyone else? Let us know in the comments!