--What an official visit week it was for West Virginia. The Mountaineers have already added four public commitments from Denver (N.C.) East Lincoln 2023 linebacker Ben Cutter, Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith 2023 athlete Tory Johnson, Port St. Lucie (Fla.) Treasure Coast 2023 defensive lineman Corey McIntyre and Morgantown (W.Va.) University 2023 athlete Noah Braham and there is at least one pledge that has yet to be announced. Talk about a day for the program when it comes to locking up some key targets. That's three legacy prospects and a linebacker that sat very high on the board for this group of coaches. It's hard to complain with that haul.
--While not in the 2023 class, West Virginia also landed another major commitment from Blairstown (N.J.) tight end William Dixon. He was a late bloomer that put on a show at camp this past summer earning an offer. He has excellent size and 4.7 speed for his position which is impressive. He not only is an impressive blocker, but can be used as a reliable pass catcher and got open at will during the course of the camp I saw him. This is a major pull in the sense that West Virginia was able to get him to come now instead of play out the 2023 recruiting process because he would have ended up with quite a bit more offers. Pittsburgh tried to come in late and offer him as a 2023 and Virginia Tech, Tennessee and others were showing strong interest. Don't let the lack of a ranking fool you here because Dixon is a very good player.
--West Virginia is now at 16 public commitments and currently is ranked as the No. 12 class in the nation. It’s also important to note that the 3.19 average star ranking of each recruit would be the second highest in Rivals history. Given the fact there is no hard cap for this class there isn't necessarily a cut off with this group so it will be interesting to see how many more that the coaching staff elects to take. Don't get caught up on numbers as we've done in the past because it's a blank slate.
--Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern 2023 wide receiver Elijah Caldwell visited this past weekend and is now down to West Virginia and Utah, where he officially visited the week before. He was really impressed during his visit and loves the fact that the coaches had a clear plan for him at the position. He will make his decision July 1 and the Mountaineers do have some momentum coming off the official visit. He is a top target and forget about the rankings because if you haven't watched his tape, you probably should.
--Macon (Ga.) Northeast 2023 offensive lineman Johnny Williams is the top target for West Virginia on the offensive line right now and had a very good visit this past weekend. I have yet to catch up with him, but just based off his social media interactions it's clear to see that the trip to Morgantown left him very impressed. If the Mountaineers can wrap that one up you can expect the coaches to take possibly one more offensive lineman from the 2023 class and bank the rest for transfers. Several of the commitments have been working this one hard and Williams is obviously receptive.
--Georgetown (Ky.) Great Crossing High School 2023 defensive end Oryend Fisher left impressed with his visit to West Virginia but I'm not sure if he is in a hurry to make any decisions after his strong performance at the Alabama camp. Fisher is more of a pass rusher than a prototypical defensive end but is somebody that the coaches would love to add to the recruiting class moving forward. This one will be interesting to see what unfolds in the coming days and weeks.
--Two players left campus Friday in Middle Village (N.Y.) Christ The King 2023 cornerback Tayvon Nelson and Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed 2023 linebacker Amare Campbell. Nelson was highly impressed with what West Virginia had to offer and told me that he elected to go to Maryland for an official visit in order to compare the two schools. He plans to make a decision shortly after he returns from campus and the Mountaineers did everything they could to impress him. The time is ticking there. As for Campbell, he traveled to North Carolina following his official visit to Morgantown and while he has yet to respond to me those seem to be the two schools sticking out the most.
--Even with the flurry of defensive line commitments, West Virginia is still in play for Riverside (W.Va.) 2023 defensive end Braydin Ward as he is more of a big framed defensive end that is going to grow into the position in the future. I don't have any sort of timeline on that one, but it is something to keep in mind moving forward.
--The dead period will begin Monday and will last through the month of July outside of one week at the end. Expect West Virginia to host a camp and a get together during that time, but all visits will be shelved until that point. That could serve to expedite some other decisions in the coming days and weeks.
--While not in the 2023 class, West Virginia also landed another major commitment from Blairstown (N.J.) tight end William Dixon. He was a late bloomer that put on a show at camp this past summer earning an offer. He has excellent size and 4.7 speed for his position which is impressive. He not only is an impressive blocker, but can be used as a reliable pass catcher and got open at will during the course of the camp I saw him. This is a major pull in the sense that West Virginia was able to get him to come now instead of play out the 2023 recruiting process because he would have ended up with quite a bit more offers. Pittsburgh tried to come in late and offer him as a 2023 and Virginia Tech, Tennessee and others were showing strong interest. Don't let the lack of a ranking fool you here because Dixon is a very good player.
--West Virginia is now at 16 public commitments and currently is ranked as the No. 12 class in the nation. It’s also important to note that the 3.19 average star ranking of each recruit would be the second highest in Rivals history. Given the fact there is no hard cap for this class there isn't necessarily a cut off with this group so it will be interesting to see how many more that the coaching staff elects to take. Don't get caught up on numbers as we've done in the past because it's a blank slate.
--Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern 2023 wide receiver Elijah Caldwell visited this past weekend and is now down to West Virginia and Utah, where he officially visited the week before. He was really impressed during his visit and loves the fact that the coaches had a clear plan for him at the position. He will make his decision July 1 and the Mountaineers do have some momentum coming off the official visit. He is a top target and forget about the rankings because if you haven't watched his tape, you probably should.
--Macon (Ga.) Northeast 2023 offensive lineman Johnny Williams is the top target for West Virginia on the offensive line right now and had a very good visit this past weekend. I have yet to catch up with him, but just based off his social media interactions it's clear to see that the trip to Morgantown left him very impressed. If the Mountaineers can wrap that one up you can expect the coaches to take possibly one more offensive lineman from the 2023 class and bank the rest for transfers. Several of the commitments have been working this one hard and Williams is obviously receptive.
--Georgetown (Ky.) Great Crossing High School 2023 defensive end Oryend Fisher left impressed with his visit to West Virginia but I'm not sure if he is in a hurry to make any decisions after his strong performance at the Alabama camp. Fisher is more of a pass rusher than a prototypical defensive end but is somebody that the coaches would love to add to the recruiting class moving forward. This one will be interesting to see what unfolds in the coming days and weeks.
--Two players left campus Friday in Middle Village (N.Y.) Christ The King 2023 cornerback Tayvon Nelson and Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed 2023 linebacker Amare Campbell. Nelson was highly impressed with what West Virginia had to offer and told me that he elected to go to Maryland for an official visit in order to compare the two schools. He plans to make a decision shortly after he returns from campus and the Mountaineers did everything they could to impress him. The time is ticking there. As for Campbell, he traveled to North Carolina following his official visit to Morgantown and while he has yet to respond to me those seem to be the two schools sticking out the most.
--Even with the flurry of defensive line commitments, West Virginia is still in play for Riverside (W.Va.) 2023 defensive end Braydin Ward as he is more of a big framed defensive end that is going to grow into the position in the future. I don't have any sort of timeline on that one, but it is something to keep in mind moving forward.
--The dead period will begin Monday and will last through the month of July outside of one week at the end. Expect West Virginia to host a camp and a get together during that time, but all visits will be shelved until that point. That could serve to expedite some other decisions in the coming days and weeks.
