West Virginia Mountaineers Football: Rifling Through Recruiting

With the wait for the start of the season almost over, now is as good a time as any to quickly check in on WVU's recruiting efforts.  Though these young guys may not be playing in the upcoming games, they are the future cornerstones of our program and the success of the team could depend on who stays on board.  Luckily for the Mountaineers, they have the good problem of just needing to keep people on board rather than finding commits, as most of the spots in the class are already taken.

Right now the WVU class of 2015 is sitting pretty with 17 hard commitments, which is good for the largest class in the Big 12 right now, though TCU is nipping at the heels with 16 commits of their own.  However this class is more than just bodies to provide depth one day, as it is shaping into one of the most talented classes WVU has had in recent memory.  In fact, though there is some variation, most major recruiting services rank WVU's class as the second most talented in the Big 12 only after Texas, which is good company to keep.

The best part though is that it is following an already stellar 2014 class, which features a true freshman starter in Dravon Henry (playing alongside Karl, our last true freshman safety).  Kendrell McFadden, WVU's top ranked safety commit right now, may not have the same opportunity if those two can hold down their spots (they probably can...), but there could be a couple freshman starts in the mix.  My best guess would be Jovon Durante, who is going to be lights out at the WR position for WVU if he stays committed.  Alabama has been trying to sway his pledge so it will be interesting to see if the upcoming game affects him at all.  That being said, he did transfer to Miramar High School, which should be music to Mountaineers fans' ears, because if any school can help our chances of making him Mountaineer it's that one.

Even if a pledge is swayed here or there, like Sheldrick Redwine's decommitment at his family's urging, WVU's class is fairly deep at every position.  Right now the 2015 class is fairly well rounded with two QB's, two RB's, one TE, two WR's, four OT/OG's, and six players that will likely end up at a DB position (including the Spur).  The glaring need right now for the class is on the defensive line, with zero commitments and not loads of depth on the roster currently.  Alec Shriner (OG) and Stone Wolfley (TE) could both run with the defensive line if need be, being familiar with that side of the ball from high school.  Hopefully though the additions of Damon Cogdell and Tom Bradley will help WVU recruit a position that we have had a lot of trouble with in the past minus a few bright spots in the past (Bruce Irvin).

There are also no linebackers currently committed, but WVU is stacked there already and will only be able to give out one or maybe two linebacker scholarships this class anyways, so it isn't a huge concern.  Overall though, West Virginia is off to a great start and if some of the major keys stay committed, then West Virginia is going to continue to stockpile great talent and get the program back to being a year in year out Big 12 title contender.

Who might be the next to join the WVU nation?  Good question, and with limited slots the coaching staff will likely be fairly choosy.  Though ideally it would be someone along the defensive front like Larry Jefferson or Shareef Miller, the next name on the commit list might be a more familiar one.  Remember Jamie Herr, OT commit in the class of 2014?  Well he didn't qualify and was classified to the 2015 class where he is now having a stellar season at ECA protecting WVU QB commit David Sills.  His recruitment is still open right now as he is considering all his option, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him take up the last offensive line scholarship that they are likely to give out, ECA has been good to WVU the past couple years.