As WVSports.com first reported last night, Illinois graduate transfer T.J. Neal has set his official visit to West Virginia and right now there is some optimism here moving forward. Neal will take an official visit to West Virginia Feb. 9-10 and it will be the first trip he has scheduled. Right now it is the only visit he has scheduled as well and he told me that he is really looking forward to the visit to get an idea how he would be used in the scheme. He told me that he elected to pursue a graduate transfer from Illinois because of some of the changes there as well as the fact that he was going to be moved from his spot at MIKE to SAM. He finished last season with 109 tackles and the season before that with 98 tackles as a two-year starter. He has already been to West Virginia once for an unofficial visit for the LSU game when he was in high school but elected to look in a different direction. Right now, this trip to West Virginia will be big for him because the major holdup right now is the fact that he doesn't have experience in the 3-3-5 defense and he wants to watch film and talk with the coaches about how he can fit into the scheme. Memphis, Cincinnati and several other schools have reached out to him in recent weeks but he did tell me that Pittsburgh and Penn State will likely not be options. His biggest concern is being able to get on the field early and he wants to have a final decision by the end of February.
