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No. 1 prep WR offered by WVU football

By Matthew Peaslee

Jan 2, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen is doused with Gatorade during the second half of the 2016 Cactus Bowl against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Chase Field. The Mountaineers won 43-42. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen is doused with Gatorade during the second half of the 2016 Cactus Bowl against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Chase Field. The Mountaineers won 43-42. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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The best wide receiver out of Detroit is no longer Calvin Johnson. 

With Johnson announcing his retirement from the Detroit Lions, the door is left open for a young wide receiver to emerge from the Motor City.

That young athlete looks to be Donovan Peoples-Jones out of Cass Technical High School.

The 17-year old is a five-star recruit, as rated by 247ports, Yahoo, ESPN and Rivals. He is being offered by, literally, every school in the country.

According to one profile of People-Jones, he has been offered by the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson and Alabama.

You can now add the WVU football program to that list.

He is certainly a hot commodity and he still has another year of high school football ahead of him. Peoples-Jones has the frame of a an athletic wide out and he is still growing into his body.

Peoples-Jones stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 190 pounds. He creates separation from his defenders and has great hands, at that.

He would, obviously, be a great fit at West Virginia.

Peoples-Jones has yet to take an official visit. He likely will not be able to visit all 20-plus schools that have already offered him, but the select few on the list can improve their chances.

Since he is already situated less than an hour from the University of Michigan campus, a stop at the Big House would be a pretty good bet at where Peoples-Jones ends up first.

No college football coach has been in the news more this offseason that the Wolverines’ Jim Harbaugh. If he lets Peoples-Jones slips away, he will be ridiculed much more than he already has been recently.

The WVU football coaching staff can definitely help lure Peoples-Jones to Morgantown.

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The Mountaineers have been strongly etched in the pass-happy Big 12 for four seasons now. The coaching staff has committed itself to developing a strong offense, whether it be through the air or the 2015, new-age running attack.

The verdict is still out on if the 2016 team will be like the 2012 squad with Geno Smith setting records left-and-right or if West Virginia will revert back to the 50-50 style it went with last season.

Peoples-Jones (aka “The Freak”) would obviously prefer to be in an offense where passing is seen as the means to win.

This past signing day, the WVU football program brought in a pair of wide receivers: Steven Smothers and Marcus Simms, both of Maryland.

Peoples-Jones hails from Michigan in the heart of Big 10 country. It’s not exactly a Big 12 hotbed and there are currently no Michigan natives on the WVU football team. But, with the recent dive into expanding the Mountaineers recruiting footprint in Ohio, another Midwestern state could be on the way.

It’s still a long way off, but in the cutthroat world high football recruit, West Virginia can be aggressive in landing one of the nation’s best.

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