West Virginia Football Recruiting: Signing Day 2013 Open Thread

Today is the day for recruits all across the nation to sign on the dotted line for their future alma maters. HailWV will be keeping you updated with all the signings that come along as the day progresses.

For all things recruiting, check in at Saturday Blitz throughout the day.

Update – 7:00 AM

The West Virginia Mountaineers enter National Signing Day with three commitments already enrolled for the Spring semester. The Mountaineers have the following three JUCO players on campus already:

• Dreamius Smith 4-star ESPN/3-star Scout, RB (Butler Community College Wichita, KS)
• Ronald Carswell 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, WR (Itawamba Community College Macon, GA)
• Kevin White 3-star ESPN/2-star Scout, WR (Lackawanna College Scranton, PA)

The JUCO trio provide the Mountaineers with a solid start to the 2013 recruiting class.

West Virginia originally had enrolled four JUCO athletes for the Spring semester, including safety Terrell Pinson. Since the announcement by WVU back in December, Pinson has since decommitted, and appears poised to join Louisiana Tech.

Update – 8:30 AM

The fax machine has been humming in Morgantown all morning long. Up to this point, the West Virginia Mountaineers have received commitments from the following players:

• Hodari Christian 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, ILB (McKeesport Area SHS McKeesport, PA)
• Malik Greaves 4-star EPSN/3-star Scout, S (Sandalwood HS Jacksonville, FL)

• Chavas Rawlins 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, QB (Monessen HS Monessen, PA)
• Daikiel Shorts 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, WR (Eastern Christian Academy Elkton, MD)

• Wendell Smallwood 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, RB (Eastern Christian Academy Elkton, MD)
• Al-Rasheed Benton 4-star ESPN/3-star Scout, ILB (Shabazz HS Newark, NJ)
• Elijah Wellman 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, ILB (Spring Valley HS Huntington, WV)

• Jeremy Tyler 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, S (Martin Luther King HS Lithonia, GA)
• Grant Lingafelter 3-star ESPN/2-star Scout, OT (Chagrin Falls HS Chagrin Falls, OH)
• Marcell Lazard 4-star ESPN/3-star Scout, OT (Bloomfield HS Bloomfield, NJ)

The 10 recruits to sign in the first hour and a half of signing day bring the Mountaineers recruiting class to 13.

So far, the Mountaineers recruiting class is heavy on defense, showing that the West Virginia coaching staff is making huge strides to improve a WVU defense that ranked amongst the worst in the country last season. West Virginia will look to round out the recruiting class with a couple of defensive linemen and a few more offensive weapons.

Update – 8:45 AM

Two more LOIs have come across the fax for the Mountaineers:

• Mario Alford  (JUCO) 4-star ESPN/3-star, RB (Georgia Military College Greenville, GA)
• Daryl Worley 3-star ESPN/3-star, S (William Penn Charter HS Philadelphia, PA)

The signing of Worley is no surprise for the Mountaineers as he has been verbally commited for quite some time. The big surprise is Mario Alford who has not been on the radar for West Virginia according to all of the major recruiting outlets. Alford’s signing is a big one for WVU, bringing another talented offensive weapon to Dana Holgorsen’s spread attack.

The two signings bring WVU’s haul to 15.

Update – 9:15 AM

The talent just keeps rolling in for the Mountaineers. WVU has picked up LOIs from two more talented players, ones that have been expected all morning:

• Darrien Howard 4-star ESPN/4-star Scout, ILB (Chaminade-Julienne HS Dayton, OH)
• Tyler Tezeno 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, OG/C (Klein Collins HS Spring, TX)

Coach Dana Holgorsen and the coaching staff are putting together a really comprehensive class. Outside of defensive line and kicker/punter, WVU has received commitments from every skill group on the field.

The signing of Tezeno especially helps as the Mountaineers are in search of a lot of help on offensive line with the mass departure up front for West Virginia.

WVU’s 2013 class now stands at 17.

Update – 10:25

West Virginia is quickly finalizing their 2013 recruiting class, adding another four talents to the crop of new Mountaineers:

• Dontrill Hyman (JUCO) 3-star ESPN/2-star Scout, DE (Hinds Community College Warsaw, NC)
• Isaac McDonald 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, OLB/S (Champagnat Catholic HS Hialeah, FL)

• Stone Underwood (JUCO) NR ESPN/2-star Scout, OG/C (Copiah-Lincoln Community College Brookhaven, MS)
• D’Vante Henry (JUCO) 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, OLB (Arizona Western College Moore, OK)

The 2013 class is almost completely wrapped up with the Mountaineers receiving a heap of talented players, with quite a few JUCO players that bring a wealth of experience. These four recruits show that the Mountaineers really exercised a national recruiting plan this season, one that has not been seen in Morgantown before.

Great credit to the West Virginia coaching staff for putting together such an imposing class. WVU now has 21 commits on the line.

Update – 10:40 AM

Just when you think it cannot get much better for the West Virginia Mountaineers, they add yet another pair of high end athletes:

• Brandon Golson (JUCO) 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, OLB (Georgia Military College St. Matthews, SC)
• Marvin Gross 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, DE (Dunbar HS Baltimore, MD)

Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson is licking his chops right now. With the signing of Golson and Gross, Patterson now has 12 fresh recruits to mold on the defensive side of the football. Th Mountaineers have signed 2 defensive linemen, 7 linebackers, and 3 safeties.

How is that for shoring up the defense? WVU now has 23 players in the 2013 recruiting class (with Ronald Carswell’s LOI still missing, yet he is reportedly enrolled already).

Update – 10:55 AM

Ask and ye shall receive. Just when we began to question whether Ronald Carswell was a part of WVU’s 2013 recruiting class, we get notification that his LOI is now signed and he is officially a Mountaineer. Also breaking, the Mountaineers go to the west coast to pick-up a JUCO kicker:

• Nick O’Toole (JUCO) NR ESPN/2-star Scout, K/P (Fullerton College Corona, CA)

Nick O’Toole is coming to West Virginia at a perfect time. Both Tyler Bitancurt and Corey Smith have graduated, creating an immediate need at both kicker and punter for the Mountaineers. O’Toole should slide into the starting line-up with little competition expected.

With O’Toole and a firm Carswell commit, WVU now has a class of 24 for 2013.

Update – 11:00 PM

West Virginia completed their 2013 recruiting class with the signing of their highest rated player, a stud wide receiver:

• Shelton Gibson 4-star ESPN/4-star Scout, WR (Cleveland Heights HS Cleveland Heights, OH)

Gibson is the marquee piece of the West Virginia Mountaineers recruiting class as the highest rated prospect in the bunch. He will be coming into Morgantown with high expectations. With the holes in the receiving corps, expect Gibson to get ample playing time in the Fall.

The West Virginia Mountaineers conclude their 2013 recruiting class with 25 athletes.

Update – Feb 7, 8:25 AM

Both ESPN and Scout list the Mountaineers as likely to still land a pair of running back prospects. The Mountaineers still have verbal commitments from these players, yet did not receive a LOI from either:

• Deshawn Coleman 3-star ESPN/3-star Scout, RB (Hickory HS Hermitage, PA)
• Jacky Marcellus 3-star ESPN/2-star Scout, RB (Immokalee HS, Immokalee, FL)

It is unclear whether these players will in fact commit to West Virginia. For now, the Mountaineers recruiting class stands at 25 commits, but if these players send in late LOIs, then the Mountaineers recruiting class will be even better.

HailWV will keep you updated should the situation change with these players.