WVU’s lot of football recruiting during a rebuild and pandemic
There are still times when I just shake my head at the shape Dana Holgorsen left the WVU program. He struggled to recruit and bolted for the first program that would take him.
So, the task of rebuilding was left to current Mountaineer head coach Neil Brown.
Which is a difficult enough task by itself. But it’s been made tougher by the pandemic.
We’ve all heard of Brown’s impressive moves behind the scenes, right? They are moves to show recruits, to impress upon them, they are more than ballplayers.
Yet the NCAA has had a recruiting dead period in place since March, meaning schools can neither host recruits on campus nor send coaches to visit recruits in their homes or high schools. It makes sense in light of Covid-19, but recruiting is each school’s lifeblood. And Brown is trying to catch the blue bloods without the opportunity to impress.
Also, these days keen roster management is at a premium. If, that is, you can first figure out that obstacle course.
The dead period extends through Jan. 1, past the Dec. 16 signing day. You’re recruiting in a virtual world. The senior class has been given an extra year of eligibility for 2021. There are grad transfers and the portal. Oh, and a potential new rule will allow college athletes one penalty-free transfer.
Now go!
OK, so I realize all football coaches have to deal with the setup. But not all are rebuilding. And it’s easier for schools like Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia, etc., to sell to recruits because of familiarity. At WVU it’s like convincing a recruit to buy a car without a test drive.
It all crossed my mind while watching a Brown Zoom replay. Keenan Cummings of Rivals.com asked the coach about having signing day four days after the season finale.
“We’re concentrating on getting this class,” Brown said. “Signing day is two weeks from [Wednesday]. It gets on you fast. We’re going to play on that Saturday and then turn around and have signing day.
“It’s not totally unique. I’ve been at bowl sites two different times on signing days. You just kind of roll with it.”
He continued.
“We’re trying to put the pieces [together]. We’ll have anywhere from 17 to 19 [recruits] in the early signing period. So, we want to make sure we finish those off. It’s always a race to the finish – and at the same time do legwork for the [2022 class].”
If wondering, 247 Sports has WVU’s 2021 class ranked No. 33, third in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma and Texas. (The Mountaineers were No. 37 in 2020 and No. 4 within the league.) Rivals has WVU No. 40 after ranking the school No. 29 last year. (FYI, standouts Akheem Mesidor and Zach Frazier were given but three stars at that time.) Among the four-star recruits in the upcoming class – if they sign — are stud offensive tackle Wyatt Milum of Spring Valley High in Huntington, wideout Kaden Prather of Germantown, Maryland, and running backs Jaylen Anderson of Massillon, Ohio, and Justin Johnson of Edwardsville, Illinois.
“I think they’re getting a little antsy worrying about whether they can get on campus before making decisions,” Brown said. “We get it. We’re trying to stay ahead on that as well.”
And regarding seniors that may or may not stay for next season?
“We used the first bye week because we were due to have Senior Day there against Oklahoma, as it was scheduled,” Brown said. “So, during the bye week, I met one-on-one with all of our seniors. We had some preliminary discussions. I said, ‘Hey, if you know you want to come back there’s no sense in walking. If you don’t know, just walk and, if you make the decision to come back, we’ll make it work.
“We’ll have [those decisions] in detail at the end of the regular season. When we finish with the Oklahoma game, before the bowl prep, those will be discussed with the seniors and we’ll kind of go from there.”
College football roster management. The 2020 version of the Rubik’s Cube.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.