After a bit of a hold up, Eric Kinsey, a 6'3, 240 lbs outside linebacker and defensive end from Miami (Florida) Northwestern High School,has committed to the West Virginia University Mountaineers, announcing the news and faxing in his National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day 2012. Kinsey, a 3-star prospect and the No. 103 ranked outside linebacker by Scout.com, chose the Mountaineers over offers from Ole Miss, FIU, Louisville, Nebraska, USF, and Vanderbilt.

Kinsey is a solid pickup at another area of need as WVU transitions into the Big XII, which is obviously a pass-happy league. Given the transition to a 7-man front, Kinsey should have a huge opportunity to come in and compete for playing time right away if he can learn the defense and figure out how to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Welcome home, Eric!

Travares Copeland, a 5'11" 175 lb athlete from Treasure Coast HS in Port St. Lucie, Florida, has, as expected, signed his letter of intent to play for the Mountaineers. In high school, he was a dual threat quarterback but projects to be a receiver for the Mountaineers. After initially garnering offers from the likes of Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, Wake Forest and Michigan State among many others, his final decision came down to Florida International and WVU. He is rated as a 3 star prospect by both Rivals and Scout.

Welcome home Travares!!

Annnnd breathe! Now that the inital wave of LOIs is over with, we can step back, collect our thoughts, assess the players we have in the fold and see who else is left out there that might still sign with WVU. To recap:

• There really haven't been any major surprises since last night's update, which is both a good and a bad thing.
  All 19 players we predicted signed and faxed their letters of intent, putting the wraps on a very solid class in Dana Holgorsen's first year as a head coach. The Orange Bowl win should really start to pay dividends in next year's class, when coaches and players have more time to develop relationships and build interest.
• As I predicted, OL Adam Pankey chose WVU over Pitt, rounding out a very solid OL class.
• Although neither MSN nor Scout.com lists him as official, ESPN is reporting that ATH Travares Copeland picked the Mountaineers over FIU and Rutgers. As I said yesterday, I like Copeland a lot, and I think he could fit in well at a couple different positions. Here is the video of Copeland's announcement:

So I missed on LB Deaysean Rippy, but was (unfortunately) right about WR Joel Caleb and LB Schyler Miles. I really thought we would wind up with at least one of these guys, and we ended up finishing in second with all of them. Such is life.

The SEC recruit I mentioned was actually two SEC recruits. CB Daniel Gray ended up sticking with Tennessee after visiting WVU, reaffirming his UT commit, wavering, and then signing this morning. I thought we would get either Gray or DL Eric Kinsey, who is a former Ole Miss verbal. At this point, I'm hearing all kinds of mixed signals on Kinsey---he signed with Cincinnati, he signed with WVU, and he is announcing at 7pm tonight. If we get something official, we'll post it. But at the very least, this one ain't ova.

The whole surprise recruit thing was mostly a stab in the dark. There always seem to be surprises, and I had heard some chatter about a last-minute push for someone nobody had been talking about. That may have been Tracy Howard, who I mentioned earlier today. He ended up at Miami. Teko Powell is another guy whose name was thrown around. He signed with Illinois. Sunny Odogwu was thought to be a potential grayshirt, but it looks like he will go the prep route.

At this point, there don't appear to be any more candidates out there, meaning WVU should finish with 22 in the class. Yes, it's short of the full 25 allotted, but it does address our needs and it is chock full of very very good players. It's always disappointing when you lose out on most of the 50/50 kids, but there is nothing to be ashamed of with this class.

So now that we have a handle on things, who are you most excited about? Do you have any concerns that were left unaddressed? Who did WVU really miss out on this year? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.

Devonte Mathis, a 6'1, 205 lbs wide receiver from Miramar (Florida) High School,has committed to the West Virginia University Mountaineers, announcing the news and faxing in his National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day 2012. Mathis, a 3-star prospect and the No. 108 ranked wide receiver by Scout.com, chose the Mountaineers over offers from Florida State, Ohio State, USF and Wake Forest, among others.

Mathis keeps the Miramar pipeline alive, following current WVU playmakers Geno Smith, Stedman Bailey, and Ivan McCartney to Morgantown. You can see by his offer list that Mathis is probably underrated as the No. 108 wide receiver. Blessed with good size and great speed, Mathis should fit right into Dana Holgorsen's wide open system. You simply can't have too many guys like this.

Welcome home, Devonte!

Darreall "Dee" Joyner, a 5'11, 175 lbs wide receiver from Miami (Florida) Central High School,has committed to the West Virginia University Mountaineers, announcing the news and faxing in his National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day 2012. Joyner, rated a 2-star prospect and the No. 223 wide receiver by Scout.com, chose the Mountaineers over offers from Bowling Green, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wake Forest.

Originally scheduled to enroll in January, Joyner deferred until the summer so he could run track at his high school. As you might expect, that means Dee is FAST. Clocked with blazing 4.4 speed, his wheels make up for his lack of ideal size. At this point, he may not have the moves of a Tavon Austin, but he should be a great addition to this class.

Welcome home, Dee!

Adam Pankey, a 6'5" 300 lb monster OL has chosen to play football for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Originally a Pitt commit, Pankey re-evaluated his options when Coach Todd Graham bolted for the desert and has now signed with the good guys. He comes to West Virginia by way of Hamilton HS in Hamilton, OH, where he earned Division I third team offense honors following his senior season. This is a HUGE (on several meanings) get for the Mountaineers and it was still up in the air coming into today. Pankey was rated as a 3 star prospect by both Rivals and Scout. In addition to Pitt, he also held offers from Illinois, Louisville and Marshall among others.

Welcome home Adam!!

Mark Glowinski, a 6'5, 290 lbs offensive lineman from Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton, Pennsylvania,has committed to the West Virginia University Mountaineers, announcing the news and faxing in his National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day 2012. Glowinski, rated a 3-star prospect by Scout.com, chose the Mountaineers over offers from UConn, Kansas State, North Carolina State, and others.

As a Junior College recruit, Glowinski will have a chance to come in and compete for playing time immediately without having to bulk up or make a huge adjustment to the speed of the college game. OL coach Bill Bedenbaugh expects him to do just that, as he will at least be able to add quality depth and competition to bolster a much-maligned blocking corps. If, for some reason, Glowinski struggles to adapt or needs to get into shape, he has 3 years to play 2 and could take a redshirt without losing eligibility. Given his size and ability, though, I don't anticipate that happening.

Welcome home, Mark!

KJ Dillon, a 6'2" 180 lb safety from Apopka, Florida, has signed his letter of intent to play for the Mountaineers. He's a tall safety that, over time and development in the weight room, could possibly end up at a LB spot at a later point in his career. He is rated as a 2 star by Scout, but a 3 star by Rivals. He chose WVU over a long list of offers including those from Cincinnati, Arkansas, FIU, Louisville, Purdue, USF, and Washington State among others.

Welcome home KJ!!