For as long as I can remember, one of the recruiting staples at West Virginia University has always been that if you bring a student to campus, you have a chance. But does the data support it? What was it like for the West Virginia Mountaineers football program that had successful official visits during the Neil Brown era?
For the class of 2021, all of these opportunities were shelved due to safety concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But now that things are back to normal, we take a look at how the Mountaineers have handled bringing players to campus.
What was West Virginia head coach Neil Brown's and staff's success rate with players visiting campus for official visits during their short tenure?
Brown took over midway through the 2019 class, so these numbers will be skewed both in terms of time to recruit players and the number of players they were pursuing. With the largest players in the class already in place, Brown had to hold again and secure without losing anyone, accepting eight additional players on official visits for that stretch run.
Of those eight, West Virginia was able to sign safety Te Mayo, defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson, safety Rasheen Lynn, offensive lineman John Hughes and safety Noah Guzman. However, wide receiver Darren Wilson (Iowa State), offensive lineman Willie Tyler (Texas) and offensive lineman Darnell Wright (Tennessee) all chose to sign elsewhere. ing.
Considering the 14 players who were already in the program, the Mountaineers' coaching change with Dana Holgorsen heading to Houston allows him to return to the team for an additional visit, leaving the program with a total of 19 players out of 22. This means that you have entered into a contract with They were on campus.
However, since only new players are counted here, the Mountaineers signed five of the eight players.
The 2020 class was a more accurate depiction of what a typical visit schedule would look like, as the Mountaineers had a total of 33 players on official visits. This included the first sample of early official visits, when coaches hosted 13 players over two days from June 14 to 16 in the summer.
In that early period, the Mountaineers ended up signing six players, including defensive end Akheem Mesidor. However, defensive end Quentin Williams (Miami), cornerback Taheeb Still (Maryland), linebacker Tirek Austin-Cabe (Miami), wide receiver Bryce Gordy (Georgia Tech), defensive end Aaron Lewis (Michigan State), seven wide players have chosen to go elsewhere. receiver Chris Drain (Missouri State) and offensive lineman Samuel Lengart (Iowa State).
Now, these visits come sooner and come with more risk, but getting even half of it would be enough to get you through the early stages of the process, especially considering Lewis initially committed to West Virginia and later flipped. Good turnout at this stage.
Of the 20 other prospects West Virginia accepted on official visits over the course of the remainder of the season, the Mountaineers took 14 in total. The only exceptions are defensive end Simeon Burrow (Michigan State), defensive end Wesley Bailey (Rutgers), cornerback Lakevious Daniel (Mississippi State), defensive end Yaya Diaby (Louisville), defensive end Justin Jackson (Colorado State) and safety Charles Bell (Marshall). ). And from that list, West Virginia ultimately decided on some.
Although official visits were not allowed during the 2021 class, the Mountaineers continued to show success when they were able to bring players to campus. A total of 12 of the 16 commitments visited for some kind of junior day or activity during the recruiting process.
For the 2022 class, the numbers were once again impressive as the Mountaineers accepted 46 prospects, with a total of 21 of them joining the program.
And in 2023, West Virginia accepted 36 players, 19 of whom were committed. The 2024 group received 47 official visitors, of which 23 visited.
Overall, the data shows that of the 184 non-transfer players who have taken official visits to West Virginia since Brown became head of the program, only 84 have chosen to go elsewhere.
That's 54% of the players the program has hosted, but that total also doesn't include players who, for whatever reason, West Virginia opted to pass on instead of players.
Bringing players to campus is certainly a weapon in a coach's arsenal, and the data backs it up.
