One former WVU football star who transferred out of the program after former coach Neal Brown was fired gave a strong performance for his new team in Week 1.
CJ Donaldson Jr. played a critical role for the West Virginia Mountaineers' offense over the past three seasons, racking up 2,058 rushing yards 30 touchdowns during his time with WVU. He opted to enter the transfer portal during the offseason and found himself committed to the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
Donaldson ended up the feature back for the No. 3-ranked Buckeyes as they welcomed No. 1-ranked Texas into Ohio Stadium for a Top 5 matchup to open Week 1 of the season, and he played a pretty big role in the Buckeyes emerging victorious with a 14-7 win. Donaldson led Ohio State in both carries and rushing yards, handling the ball 19 times and picking up 67 yards with his leg. He also scored the team's first touchdown of the day,
Donaldson's performance likely comes as no surprise to Mountaineer fans who have been watching him put on a show since his freshman season, and likely will take a little joy in seeing him help knock off a former Big 12 rival of his former team as well. The win serves as a little bit of revenge for Donaldson over the Longhorns, who beat WVU 38-20 during the 2022 season -- Donaldson's freshman year in Morgantown.
While Donaldson is now with a new program, his ties to Morgantown will always be strong given his time with the Mountaineers, and fans will surely be excited to see him succeed in Columbus -- at least as long as the Mountaineers and Buckeyes don't end up meeting in the postseason.