Recruiting Update for June 2023: Mountaineers
As we usually do around this time of year, we provide WVU’s June 2023 Recruiting Update. Over the last two weekends, the West Virginia Mountaineers hosted a number of official and unofficial visitors, and, while we expect a few more to trickle in, the early results are in for the Mountaineers’ 2024 recruiting class.
Roster Composition
With the changing landscape of college football and the transfer portal, annual roster composition can be difficult to predict. The team currently has 83 total scholarships with just 11 players in their final year of eligibility. Assuming the Mountaineers do not fill any of those openings through the portal with underclassmen before Fall camp, they have just 13 open spots heading into 2024. The average team, however, surrenders around 13 kids to the portal each year. Assuming WVU hits that mark, the team will have closer to 25 open spots for 2024. Undoubtedly, they will save slots for incoming transfers, but we anticipate they would bring in 20 high school recruits.
As it stands, West Virginia will field three quarterbacks, five running backs, eight wideouts, and six tight ends in 2024. On the respective lines, they will field 13 offensive linemen and 15 defensive linemen. Eight linebackers, seven safeties, and four cornerbacks round out the defense. We cannot predict, of course, where transfer attrition would come from, though we expect at least one more offensive lineman with remaining eligibility (Zach Frazier) to enter the draft.
That composition leads to some imbalances. However, based on those, we can roughly predict the target composition of the incoming class. Head Coach Neal Brown will look for a quarterback and a running back. He will likely add three to four wide receivers and a tight end. Given the lack of depth in the interior defensive line, we anticipate he brings in two to three defensive linemen. One to two edge rushers would likely join the class as well. Fans can also expect the staff to add two to three offensive linemen and two linebackers. Finally, on the back end, West Virginia needs at least three cornerbacks and three safeties.
Who is in the Class
Now, we look at the most important part of WVU’s June 2023 Recruiting Update: the committed players. To date, West Virginia received nine commitments to its 2024 recruiting class. We identify them in the chart below. As usual, we start with their 247Sports composite star rating and then provide their ratings for each of the three main services. Previously, we used ESPN, but their recruiting services prove inconsistent and On3 takes their spot in the major three.
| Name | State | Position | Comp | 247 | Rivals | On3 |
| Obinna Onwuka | MD | DE | 4* | 3* | 4* | 4* |
| Brandon Rehmann | PA | WR | 3* | 3* | 4* | 3* |
| Keyshawn Robinson | WV | WR | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Zae Jennings | OH | S | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Kyle Altuner | MD | OL | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Elijah Kinsler | NJ | DT | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Richard James | NJ | DT | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Jack Sammarco | OH | TE | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Keelan Flowe | NC | S | — | — | — | — |
What Remains
Based on our predicted roster composition, we expect that the Mountaineers have found their lone tight end for the class. To begin, they will likely add at least one wide receiver, possibly two, depending on what happens with a few of their targets over the coming weeks. West Virginia has running back and quarterback targets in mind, to be sure. For the offensive line, we expect they will add at least one more body. They will likely also add another to the interior defensive line, along with another edge rusher.
At safety, they have a handful of targets remaining, but they will probably take only one. This leaves cornerback and linebacker unaddressed to date. We hear they have a specific linebacker target in mind, and we might hear more about a commitment in the coming days. As for cornerback, Brown and the staff made plenty of offers, but, so far, it seems they have the most trouble getting firm bites at this position.
This is one of the ways recent attrition really hurts West Virginia, as it loses a handful of cornerbacks annually and has zero margins for error heading into 2024. What cannot be addressed through recruiting, will have to be picked up in the transfer portal. Unfortunately, the portal has not been as kind to the Mountaineers at cornerback as fans would hope. Certainly, they would prefer to bring on plenty of young talent to develop over the course of several years. As a result, the absence of any cornerback commits really stands out to us.
Where the Class Ranks
As of WVU’s June 2023 recruiting update, the class ranks 42nd in the country by 247Sports’ composite rankings and fourth in the current Big 12 (fifth in the new Big 12 as Cincinnati currently ranks 33rd). So far, the class fields an average grade (86.64) on par with the last several classes brought in by Brown. This represents a good core around which the staff can build, but, absent a successful push for some of their top targets, the Mountaineers’ 2024 recruiting class may represent more of the same for this staff.
Photo courtesy: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
