By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — We’re only in early June but West Virginia has already met its quota at one position in the 2021 class.
That is at tight end, where two of the current eight commitments are slotted to play once they arrive in Morgantown to start their college career.
European tight end Victor Wikstrom was the first pledge in the 2021 class — coming last summer after a dominant effort at one of the Mountaineers’ one-day camp events — and Ohio tight end Treylan Davis followed suit in May, filling the need at the position.
The plan was to add a pair at the position in order to fill out the room moving forward and both prospects are set to enroll in January to bring the total to five scholarship prospects in the tight end room for the following season.
Both prospects are big, athletic pass catchers who also double as skilled blockers — something that is critical for the plan coach Neal Brown and company have set for the spot moving forward.
Last season, the true tight end position only produced 10 catches for 44 yards without a score, but some of that can be chalked up to both youth and inconsistency. The plan moving forward is to make the position a versatile weapon that can be moved around the formation in order to create advantages, in not only the pass game, but with an extra body in the run game, as well.
The Mountaineers hope to use the athletic profiles of both Davis and Wikstrom as in-line tight ends, h-backs, flexed out and even as slot wide receivers to take advantage of their frames and speed at their size. It’s a move many college programs have been using and the Mountaineers plan to follow suit.
Wikstrom, at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, is an athletic specimen who has the size and strength to make an impact immediately considering his 4.52 40-yard dash and the fact he lives in the weight room. He fits the mold of the new-age tight end that can create mismatches with his athleticism.
Davis, at 6-foot-5 and 233 pounds, is more of a traditional tight end, in the sense he thrives in the blocking role and takes great pride in pancaking opponents. Also a skilled pass catcher, Davis can use his size to create mismatches down the seam but he is a developing road grader that shot to the top of the board for the Mountaineers at the position given the physical element to his game.
It takes a scholarship investment to recruit these type of bodies and the Mountaineers are doing just that. The tight end wasn’t used a lot last season, but with these moves it’s clear to see that the position is certainly in the plans moving forward for the WVU football program.
