WVU Football Recruiting: What You May Have Missed

Things are still quiet along the football recruiting front but things could get shaken up very soon, much akin the basketball team's recent good fortunes.  This weekend is going to be a huge game featuring some marquee visiting recruits that will be able to drink in the atmosphere of a Big 12 night game in Mo-town.  While West Virginia is still leading the Big 12 with 17 verbally committed recruits, this game will likely determine if West Virginia could finish the with the top ranked class in the conference.  Currently WVU is setting with the fourth-highest ranked recruiting class in the Big 12, so it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that happening if the remaining scholarships are given to fairly high-profile recruits.

Of those high-profile recruits remaining on the board for West Virginia, it looks like right now four big targets from the class of 2015 will be at the game this weekend.  Four star CB Jordan Whitehead is still slated to return to Morgantown this weekend to see a big game environment and he is probably the top guy on the board right now for WVU.  It will be interesting to see his reactions to the game afterwards as it should have a big effect on his recruitment.  If Worley was in and playing maybe he could envision himself in the other slot creating a fearsome corner tandem, but with him out of the game Jordan may watch a backup corner struggle throughout the night and think "hey, I can help out here"; early playing time will be a huge factor in his recruitment.  David Long, three star ILB, should be in town from Ohio and while he may not be the flashiest of the four, he is a solid linebacker recruit at a position that currently doesn't have any 2015 recruits committed to WVU.  The Mountaineers should have great linebacker depth for the next couple of years regardless due to great recruiting at the position in previous classes, but in Big 12 football every team is restocking each year so you better be too.

Tim Irvin, a four star running back, is also scheduled to be around for the game and if the Mountaineers could pull him from Miami it would be a huge get.  The 5'9" athlete has Tavon-like abilities with the ball in his hand, but will be a hard pull as he has offers from all the major players around the country.  The biggest name name, both literally and figuratively, to join the visit is actually another Tim.  According to Twitter, Tim Settle announced that he was planning to be in attendance at the game this weekend.  Settle is four star defensive lineman from Virginia weighing in at 6'2", 339 lbs. according to 247Sports' measurements.  Settle is a former five star prospect that struggled a little bit against top competition and lost a star recently.  There has also been some murmurings of attitude problems and hard to coach.  With all that being said, he is a bonafide beast in the middle and would inject some serious talent into a position that WVU has traditionally struggled to recruit.  Besides, with the coaching staff currently in place on the defensive side of the ball, there's a great chance they would overcome any problems and help him become a heck of a player for West Virginia.

There are always potential surprise visitors but right now it looks like those will be the four names from the 2015 class, with a few potential 2016 recruits joining the fray as well.  If WVU can put on a show for this kids, there is a good chance that the atmosphere of a Morgantown night game could reel in one or two of them.  Best case scenario is that we steal away all four and vault our class to a top 15 ranking, but that is highly unlikely simply because of the competition for this kids' services.  However it will be awesome for recruiting to have so many big names in town come game night as they will spread the word of their visit to other elite talent and a visit to Morgantown is almost always enjoyed by recruits even if they don't end up playing ball there.  So while I know everyone's eyes will be glued to the field, don't forget to try to check out the sidelines when you get the chance, there might be some future superstars hanging around.