West Virginia Football Extends Offer to 2025 Randy Moss Award Winner After 7-on-7 Tournament

West Virginia football has officially extended an offer to an in-state prospect at wide receiver in the Class of 2026 after he stood out to the coaching staff at a 7-on-7 tournament hosted by the Mountaineers this week.

Malachi Thompson, who plays at Nitro High School in Kanawha County, is coming off an extremely successful junior season where he was named the recipient of the Randy Moss Award -- handed out annually to the best prep wide receiver in West Virginia -- where he hauled in 74 receptions for 1,593 yards and 18 touchdowns while leading Nitro 10-2 record and a WVSSAC Class AAA quarterfinals appearance in the postseason.

The skills that helped propel him to such a massive season were on full display for WVU football’s staff this week at the 7-on-7 tournament, as the 6-foot-4, 200-pound. Thompson’s effort drew attention from wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett and head coach Rich Rodriguez, and on Thursday night, he received his official offer from the Mountaineers.

“They said they really liked my game and that I did very well,” Thompson told Rivals.

When asked about Thompson’s best attributes, Nitro’s head coach Boom McKinney struggled with a definitive answer -- not because Thompson doesn’t have any strong attributes, but because he has too many.

“I can’t tell you his best attributes,” McKinney told MetroNews. “because he does it all so well. He’s got great speed, he reads defenses well and he’s got good hands.”

Thompson had previously narrowed down his Top 5 schools to Marshall, Ohio, Temple, Toledo and Miami (OH), but the offer from an in-state Power 4 program likely will throw a wrench in the process. He has already visited Marshall and Ohio, which are both closer to home than WVU. Mountaineer fans will have to wait and see if the allure of playing at the highest level of FBS for his state’s flagship school will win Thompson over and bring him to West Virginia football.