By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN — West Virginia landed its first commitment since the NCAA recruiting dead period was lifted June 1 when Cleveland Heights (Ohio) offensive lineman Maurice Hamilton picked the Mountaineers.
Hamilton, at 6-foot-4 and 337 pounds, was one of ten official visitors who made it to Morgantown during the June 4-6 weekend, and was one of three who committed during their stay. You might have noticed the flurry of activity from the coaching staff’s social media accounts over the weekend. That was due to securing some important pledges on the recruiting trail.
Hamilton became the first to go public with his decision when he announced Monday night.
The Rivals.com 3-star prospect became a priority for the WVU coaching staff in large part because of his size and agility along the interior offensive line.
Inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz was the area recruiter for Hamilton, while he also got to know offensive line coach Matt Moore well throughout the process. That connection coupled with a home-run official visit were enough to secure the pledge from the talented Ohio prospect.
“They always check on me and make sure they keep in contact with me,” Hamilton said.
Iowa State, Purdue, Illinois and several others also extended scholarship offers to Hamilton, who goes by Big Moe, but in the end the Mountaineers simply offered what he wanted in a college program.
WVU continues to focus on the offensive line with their recruiting efforts and Hamilton is now the third true offensive lineman in the class, and another could perhaps slide there in the future in Spring Valley standout Corbin Page, depending on his development. The other two linemen already in the fold with the Mountaineers are Charlie Katarincic and Sully Weidman.
The Mountaineers are now up to a total of six commitments overall in a class that is expected to take well over 20 scholarship players by the time the dust settles.
While Hamilton is the first pledge to go public, two more have yet to do so from the weekend, which means the class could be growing even larger in the coming days.
WVU is expected to host another talented group of official visitors during the June 11-13 weekend, and will close the month with even more before the traditional July dead period goes into effect.
This is a strong addition to the class and gives the program even more momentum heading into the heart of the summer recruiting season.
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