By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia is set to host No. 11 Texas today in what should be an electric college football environment.
That’s good news for the Mountaineers on multiple fronts as the program also is set to host a large contingency of recruits in the stands. The coaching staff will welcome a large number of players from not only the current recruiting class, but future ones as well.
WVU coach Neal Brown referred to it as a big weekend and he certainly wasn’t kidding.
Expect multiple commitments to be in the stands for the Big 12 match up with Tallahassee (Fla.) Chiles quarterback Garrett Greene, Hightstown (N.J.) Peddie School offensive lineman Chris Mayo and Danville (Ky.) Boyd County wide receiver Reese Smith among those.
There aren’t expected to be any official visitors on the trip, but Bluefield defensive end and top target Sean Martin discussed the possibility of returning to Morgantown for another trip after making it up for the opener against James Madison. The pass rusher has emerged as one of the top targets on the board for the program along the defensive line a position of need in the class.
Another in-state option that already holds an offer that has indicated he plans to be in town for the game is South Charleston pass rusher Zeiqui Lawton. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder has added a number of scholarship offers of late but the Mountaineers were his first from the power five level and he has been on campus multiple times over the last couple years.
WVU also will play host to a number of talented underclassmen with legacy prospect JJ Jones, son of Jon Jones, who played running back for the Mountaineers in the 1990s, received an offer from the program after an impressive performance at a camp this past summer. The talented wide receiver called it a “dream offer,” at the time and will now be back in Morgantown to take in a game day environment.
Another camp standout from this summer expected back is Dillon (S.C.) athlete Ahmari Huggins and the Mountaineers are one of the programs that currently have his attention despite a long list of scholarship offers to sort through at this stage of the process.
A large contingency of players from powerhouse program Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia, same school that produced current safety Tykee Smith, also will be coming to town. Two more defensive backs in cornerback Shafeek Smith and safety Javon Mcintyre headline the group with both being 2021 prospects although there will be several from the 2022 and 2023 group as well.
There will be a lot of action on the field this weekend, but arguably just as much in the stands when it comes to the future of the program as the coaches look to capitalize off the atmosphere.
