Mountaineers Continue Their Blue Collar Rebuild
The Early Signing Period for the 2020 concluded early Friday. The Mountaineers, however, wrapped up their anticipated signings Wednesday. And based on how quickly Head Coach Neal Brown and his staff and support personnel handled recruitment for the 2020 class, West Virginia fans should be excited for the future of the program. As a whole, the West Virginia Mountaineers continue their blue collar rebuild with the 2020 class.
Brown came to Morgantown in January 2019, already eight to ten months behind in building the relationships that lead to a successful signing day. Brown, however, got to work fast. As a result, he secured the first commitment, from Reese Smith, way back in March. The Mountaineers build and sustained momentum from that point through the conclusion of the Early Signing Period. We recap the class here. But, first, we think it is important for fans who have not yet seen it to take time to watch or listen to Brown’s post-signing press conference.
Neal Brown meets with the media following today’s 2020 Signing Day.#HailWV | #TrustTheClimb | #TakeMeHome20 https://t.co/pUy7u7YiCu
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) December 18, 2019
Mountaineers Target Their Needs
Brown told media all along that, unlike other programs, he did not intend to fill his class early. Instead, he wanted to see what the team’s biggest needs would be after starting conference play. Those needs, he said, would become clear throughout the season. Given the attrition the Mountaineers continued to face through the season, Brown was wise to adopt this strategy. Those needs, of course, include both immediate and long-term needs.
As the season unfolded, early comments from Offensive Line Coach Matt Moore expressing concern over the offensive line proved true. More, the Mountaineers saw a significant lack of depth in its secondary. Finally, Brown and Defensive Coordinator Vic Koenning identified future defensive line depth as a key focus area. The Mountaineers, then, focused primarily on adding bodies to the offensive line, defensive line, and secondary. In total, the Mountaineers added four offensive line signees (and one commitment). They also added five bodies to the defensive line. And West Virginia added four players to the secondary. Clearly, their focus paid off.
The Class
The chart below shows all players who have signed or committed through today. Only one player remains unsigned (Jacob Gamble, who is expected to sign in February). Players in italics are players added since our October update. Only one player, S.L. McCall, has defected from the class since our last breakdown.
| Player | Position | State | Rivals | Score | 247Sports* | Score | ESPN | Score |
| Zach Frazier | C | WV | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 89 | 3 | 74 |
| Jairo Faverus | CB | UK | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 84 | 3 | 76 |
| David Vincent-Okoli | CB | MD | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 92 | 3 | 79 |
| Lanell Carr | DE/LB | MO | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 87 | 3 | 77 |
| Devell Washington | WR | MI | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 87 | 3 | 77 |
| Garrett Greene | QB | FL | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 86 | 3 | 79 |
| Reese Smith | WR | KY | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 85 | 3 | 74 |
| Chris Mayo | OL | NJ | 4 | 5.8 | 3 | 86 | 4 | 80 |
| Jacob Gamble | OL | JuCo | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 84 | 3 | 78 |
| Charles Finley | TE | NJ | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 85 | 3 | 74 |
| Quay Mays | DT | JuCo | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 84 | 3 | 79 |
| Taurus Simmons | DE/LB | GA | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 82 | 3 | 76 |
| Sean Martin | DE | WV | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 89 | 3 | 76 |
| Jackie Matthews | S | JuCo | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 85 | 3 | 74 |
| Akheem Mesidor | DE | Canada | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 84 | 4 | 80 |
| Daryl Porter, Jr. | DB | FL | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 81 | 3 | 72 |
| Jordan White | OL | MD | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 86 | 3 | 76 |
| Tairiq Stewart | OL | JuCo | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 87 | 3 | 78 |
| Sam Brown | WR | GA | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 89 | 3 | 77 |
*The 247Sports ranking and score represent the service’s specific ranking and score (not composite figures).
The Breakdown
Importantly, the Mountaineers finished the Early Signing Period with the 30th best class in the Rivals team rankings. And they finished 37th in the 247Sports team rankings. They finished 3rd in the Big 12 per Rivals, and 4th per 247Sports. And the class composite average is the second-highest such average since rankings were diligently prepared in 2002. In all, with the Mountaineers coming off a five-win season and the staff being eight months behind in developing the formative relationships on which classes are built, West Virginia had an impressive showing.
There are some fans, however, that have already expressed concern that the class is dominated by players who are “only three-star recruits.” However, while only three of the signees carried four-star ratings into signing day, far more of them fell just outside that coveted status. Players carrying scores of 5.7 (Rivals), 87 to 89 (247Sports), and 77-79 (ESPN) fit that category of near misses. The fall-off between a player just inside the four-star designation and those falling just outside the borders is minimal, at best.
If we judge players’ potential by that measure, Brown convinced a lot of highly coveted talent to play for him. Even more, however, Brown and his staff evaluate players based solely on their performance at camps and on the field. They identify players they want, not players everyone else wants. Considering how many players signed with Brown despite late pushes from strong Power 5 teams, those ratings, we would argue, mean far less than those fans think.
Blue Collar Rebuild
As we have reported frequently, Brown focuses on building a blue-collar mentality in Morgantown. His signees definitely fit that mold. Impressively, all but just a few of Brown’s signees saw ratings or score bumps after offers from West Virginia. The opposite proved true in many prior years. In fact, fans developed a running joke in prior years that we should expect the “West Virginia rating drop” as soon as a player committed to the Mountaineers. As Brown suggested, this means that most of his inaugural class played their best football so far in their senior season. This is, as he tells us, not always (or even often) the case.
When describing each player in the class, Brown pointed out that many of these signees still have yet to play their best football. And an impressive number of them come from nationally recognized, historically competitive high school or junior college programs. Brown finds this important because it means the players know in advance the work ethic required to regularly produce wins. And, for the players who don’t fit that category, each has demonstrated a fierce competitive streak that Brown could not ignore.
In short, Brown has assembled a class of winners and fighters. These signees represent hard-working, blue-collar football players. To this point, Brown also observed that the defensive ends the staff targeted are all versatile. As a result, some players targeted at defensive end could play the hybrid bandit role or move back to linebacker if needed.
The Future
West Virginia has signed 18 players so far. The Mountaineers also hold one additional offensive line commitment. The program has 22 available scholarships for its 2020 class, and it could add another scholarship or two if it elects to blue-shirt any future commitments. Assuming, however, that West Virginia elects to enter the 2020 season with all 25 scholarships available for its 2021 class, Brown will likely look to add a running back, another defensive back, and either a linebacker or another defensive lineman.
Looking further into the future, Brown and his staff made important headway on building relationships this season. Those relationships will pay dividends in years to come. Indeed, as early as the 2021 class, the Mountaineers could easily see a significant boost against its historical progression in terms of recruiting rankings.
Brown closed his remarks about the Early Signing Period by taking time to thank the high school coaches who develop and foster these players. That certainly will not go unappreciated by the gatekeepers of many of these young men. Most importantly, that bodes well for the future of these critical relationships that will help the Mountaineers continue their blue collar rebuild.
