MORGANTOWN — Who said that you can’t get a second chance?
That’s exactly what the West Virginia football program and the new commitment from Scooba (Miss.) East Mississippi C.C. linebacker Lee Kpogba are getting.
Kpogba, at 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, was initially committed to the Mountaineers in the 2019 recruiting class under former head coach Dana Holgorsen, prior to the pair parting ways. The former four-star linebacker eventually signed with Syracuse, where he racked up 44 tackles over 22 games with the Orange.
But after leaving New York, Kpogba enrolled at East Mississippi where he thrived with 84 total tackles, a pair of sacks and an interception, drawing the interest of several college programs, including the Mountaineers. Things moved quickly between the two with Kpogba arriving on campus for an official visit for the Texas game, and after a few weeks, decided that he’d call Morgantown home yet again.
“Second time isn’t nothing like the first, got to make it count,” he said.
Kpogba also collected offers from Louisville, Indiana and Memphis, while receiving interest from many more programs, but the opportunity to get back closer to his North Carolina roots and the chance to get on the field were too much to pass up.
The junior college linebacker is an athletic specimen who can run sideline to sideline while playing a physical brand of football. He will immediately step into an opportunity to see the field early, considering he will be arriving on campus in a few short weeks at the mid-term.
Kpogba becomes the third linebacker commitment for WVU in the 2022 class, joining Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep linebacker Travious Lathan and Philadelphia (Pa.) Neumann-Goretti linebacker Raleigh Collins, and it’s clear the program is adding more athleticism there.
It’s a rare instance of a player finding his way back to the school that he wanted to attend all along, and it should be a match that benefits both parties from the jump.
Even with this trio of linebacker commitments, expect the Mountaineers to continue to remain aggressive at the position, with a total of 16 true commitments in the class.
Recruiting is just starting to heat up and Kpogba could be the first of several more dominos to fall for the Mountaineers’ football program in the coming days and weeks.
By KEENAN CUMMINGS
TWEET @dompostsports
