While a 6-7 finish to the 2024 season didn't inspire much confidence for West Virginia football fans, and with now-former Head Coach Neal Brown out the door, it is unlikely that a majority of players recruited by Brown currently on the WVU roster will seek a new home -- a decent number have already entered into the transfer portal.
However, that doesn't mean all the talent currently on the roster is worth turning away, and there are a number of dangerous weapons and future stars within the program that are worth keeping if they can vibe with the new coaching staff led by Rich Rodriguez. Here's a list of 8 names on the defensive side of the ball worth keeping in Morgantown next season.
Reid Carrico, LB
Carrico is a veteran presence with a nose for the ball and ties to the Appalachian region. He has only spent one season in Morgantown, but played in 22 games for Ohio State from 2021-2023 and appeared in 12-of-13 games for WVU in 2024 -- he finished with the fifth-most tackles on the team, recording 54 in total. Originally from Jackson, Ohio, Carrico was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2021 and ranked in the Top 100 nationally regardless of position -- he was rated the fourth-best player in Ohio in the fifth-best linebacker nationally.
Carrico got lost in the shuffle in a crowded roster of the nation’s best players at Ohio State, but similar to former southeastern Ohio native, Ohio State transfer, and Heisman winner Joe Burrow, he proved this season that his abilities can stand out with a different program that has a spot for him. Another year at WVU may prove just what he needs to live up to his hype as a recruit and be a breakout star.
Hammond Russell IV, DL
Russell can prove a critical piece to a defense that needs to rebuild itself following a pair of rough seasons. He provides game experience, having seen action in 23 games over the past two seasons and tallied 17 tackles this past season alone, and the Mountaineers are losing significant defensive line experience with TJ Jackson, Fatorma Mulbah, and Sean Martin all exhausting their eligibility.
He can also fill a crucial need for a potent pass rusher as the players responsible for 14.5 of WVU’s 20 sacks in 2024 are out of eligibility or transferring -- Russell recorded 3 sacks and 3 quarterback hurries this season.
Kekoura Tarnue, DB
Tarnue is a wild card in this regard, because by traditional NCAA rules, he has exhausted his eligibility. However, a recent injunction issued in a court case brought by Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia has essentially ruled that junior colleges and community colleges no longer count against NCAA eligibility requirements, as they are non-NCAA institutions.
Neither the injunction nor the NCAA itself has made clear since the news broke whether this applies to all players who played at such a level, but a similar case involving West Virginia basketball players last winter forced the NCAA into eventually granting immediate eligibility to any athlete that transfers institutions regardless of the amount of previous transfers.
Tarnue played a pair of seasons at a community college before moving to the FBS level of the sport, and the precedent set by this case could allow Tarnue to gain an additional year of eligibility. Tarnue could be a perfect fit for a Rodriguez team, as he played for the coach at Jacksonville State in 2023, where he started 8 games and recorded 48 tackles, 4 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions. He played in 13 games and tallied 35 tackles and one pass breakup for WVU in 2024.
Asani Redwood, DL
With the aforementioned loss of multiple starters on the defensive line, which was a strong point of an otherwise weak defense in 2024, retaining experienced players with eligibility is key. Redwood recorded 17 tackles and 1 sack while appearing in all 13 games this past season, and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Zae Jennings, S
Jennings was a minor contributor this past season, but did make enough of an impression as a true freshman to earn playing time in 12-of-13 games. He only recorded three tackles, but was highly touted due to his potential and also made an impressive interception on a two-point conversion play in the 2024 Gold-Blue Spring Game.
Israel Boyce, S
Boyce was another true freshman that impressed enough to have his redshirt burnt to add depth to the WVU defense. He managed 11 tackles -- 10 of them solo -- in just 8 appearances, with his playing time increasing each week.
Curtis Jones Jr., LB
Jones gained valuable experience in-game in primarily a special teams role, but was able to find himself utilized enough to burn his redshirt as a true freshman and appear in 11 games and record 1 tackle. He was a three-star prospect and a consensus Top 5 prospect in the state of West Virginia in the Class of 2024 -- he is one of those scrappy and underlooker in-state athletes that both Neal Brown and Rich Rodriguez have long shared a love of developing.
Keyshawn Robinson, CB
Another West Virginia native and true freshman who appeared in 11 games and managed 1 tackle is Keyshawn Robinson. A consensus Top 2 player in the state in the Class of 2024, Robinson is listed as a defensive back for WVU but was a two-way player and return specialist in high school.
His biggest attribute is a critical one for underlooked athletes who historically excel for Rich Rodriguez -- he may be the fastest player on the roster. Robinson claimed three individual state championships in track and field as a senior, sweeping the major sprinting events and added a fourth title as a member of the 4x200 relay team at his high school. He posted jaw-dropping times of 10.71 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 21.52 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 48.26 seconds in the 400-meter dash. Robinson posted a tweet on Thursday that indicated a potential return to WVU.