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West Virginia Mountaineers Football Recruiting Update 1/12/15

The first full week of the new year was pretty good to the Mountaineers, must be a sign of things to come...

By UpToMyEERS
David Purdy/Getty Images

The biggest news lately has been the new AD, Shane Lyons, getting situated at WVU and informing the public of his plans for the university, which sound like they will largely be centered around keeping the program on the same path Luck had it on. Not a bad thing despite what some fans may say. At the end of the day those that follow recruiting would be hard pressed to argue that the program is not in headed in the right direction, as each year we bring in more talent and play a little better, not to mention there has been clear academic improvement. Our plans of dominating the Big 12 may not quite have happened yet, but with how this current recruiting class is shaping up it could be coming soon.

Another event this past week that has shaken things up a bit was the hiring of Bruce Tall, a proven coach and great guy, but a defensive coach none-the-less. It should be interesting to see how the staff rearranges itself with around 66% of the coaches currently slated as defensive assistants. Not that some of these guys can't shift to the offensive side and coach just fine, they have all been around the game for a long time, but hopefully offensive commits won't have any last second doubts about signing with WVU even if they aren't 100% sure who their position coach will be.

That hasn't seemed to be the case so far though! The Mountaineers have had a great opening week to the new year with some seriously interesting talent entering the picture. Normally this is the time when 2016 recruiting becomes the topic to talk about, but there are some potential late 2015 additions on the horizon. The biggest news was probably that of Kyle Bosch entering the transfer market with WVU a potential destination. Bosch is a current guard for Michigan that was a highly recruited prospect out of high-school and could provide extra beef immediately. The offensive line should have some more depth next year with some JUCO's and younger guys still further developing, but Bosch would be some proven talent at the guard position (he didn't play tons at Michigan but was pretty decent when he did). Whether or not he could lock a starting spot down or not would be interesting to see, but if the transfer happens then it could really boost this class and help in an area of need. The early playing time is there and teammate Michael Ferns has officially transferred and enrolled early, so the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fit into place. I personally am trying not to get too excited, but when potential WVU players are tweeting things like this it sure gets everyone thinking...

Hopefully this young man comes home.

Two other young men entered the West Virginia recruiting picture last week and it seems unlikely they will be leaving anytime soon. Get acquainted with Ka'Raun and Kyzir White, Kevin's two younger bothers. Both are currently at Lackawanna and both have just received offers. Ka'Raun White looks to be a late a addition to the 2015 class at this point and at 6'2", 200 lbs. there is a lot to like about the physical way he plays wide receiver. If he comes in and plays to his abilities he could have a career very similar to Kevin's, especially after he sees where Kevin's hard work is going to land him in the coming months... At the end of the day though if he follows through and becomes a part of the class (which seems very likely by signing day) then he will add the bid-bodied receiver in this class that the staff has been craving. Tavares Martin has some height but he isn't quite as thick or strong as Ka'Raun is right now. Kyzir is a 2016 recruit that will have 3 years to play 2, however his timing will be nothing short of spectacular. Kyzir is a 6'3", 210 lbs. safety who wears number 8 and hits like a current WVU player that also wears number 8. With Karl graduating and the number opening up can Kyzir step in and fill the gap immediately? Kujo 2.0 anyone? It is somewhat surprising this hasn't happened sooner, but I think the staff wanted the brothers to really earn their scholarships and after the seasons that both had there is no question they did. It is always great to hear about family members and legacies joining the program but don't think for a second these two can't make a name for themselves. In fact, Lackawanna C.C. seems fairly certain they will.

Some late additions like the  prospects mentioned above could be huge gains, but WVU would also benefit greatly from the arrival of more early enrollees. Michael Ferns, a good LB addition, has transferred and enrolled early and is there with Chugs, Sills, and Larry Jefferson but no shows from the rest. Doesn't mean they won't make it in time, but the longer this takes the more likely we won't see some of our most talented prospects until May/June.

Also, don't forget about Jordan Cronkrite. February 4th is getting closer and closer. Many have seemed to peg Notre Dame as the winner at this point with the Pot of Gold campaign kicking into play. And from the sounds of things they really turn it up a notch during this time period (last year recruits received 477 letters each...one for every Notre Dame player drafted). That being said don't count the Mountaineers out. Cronkrite's recruitment is starting to remind me of DTW's, though maybe that is just because we are rarely involved in National Signing Day announcements of big-time prospects. Hopefully, WVU can pull of a similar result again. At the very least, Jordan does seem to like the new AD.

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