A lot has changed (and in a hurry) throughout December regarding the West Virginia football program. Neal Brown was fired at the conclusion of the regular season, and Rich Rodriguez was hired several days later. Prior to West Virginia’s matchup with Memphis in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, a few players entered the transfer portal. In recent days following the 42-37 bowl loss on December 17th, the portal has captured even more Mountaineer players, including some key contributors to the team in recent years.
With Rich Rod now at the helm, the Mountaineers will be looking to rebuild their roster, and thankfully for West Virginia, the transfer portal works both ways. Let’s look at West Virginia’s biggest losses to the transfer portal thus far, in no particular order.
Traylon Ray
Sophomore wideout Traylon Ray worked himself into being one of the top targets for QB Garrett Greene in 2024, finishing 3rd in both receptions and yardage. In West Virginia’s 10th game of the season against Baylor, Ray sustained a leg injury that required surgery, ruling him out for the remainder of the year.
Should Traylon Ray commit to another program, his presence will be missed for a West Virginia wide receiver unit that will look different in 2025.
Hudson Clement
One of the other reasons that the wide receiver unit may look different for WVU is due to the transfer portal entry of Martinsburg, West Virginia native Hudson Clement. If you’ve followed the Mountaineers for the last two seasons, you’re familiar with the “feel-good” story of the sophomore wideout. The former walk-on burst onto the scene with a 177-yard, 3 touchdown performance against Duquesne early in the 2023 season. He was informed of his being put on scholarship in the locker room after the game. In 2024, Clement took his game to another level and proved himself to have the makings of a WR1 in the Big 12. Clement finished 2024 with a team-leading 741 yards and 5 touchdowns, including a 166-yard, 2 touchdown performance in the bowl matchup with Memphis.
Clement’s portal entrance may very well be the biggest loss (should he not come back to WVU) and it is likely the biggest “surprise” entry as well. Clement will certainly receive some attention from schools throughout the country, now Mountaineer fans can just wait and see if Clement decides to stay home.
CJ Donaldson Jr.
Running back CJ Donaldson Jr. has also entered the transfer portal. Donaldson has been a staple in the WVU rushing attack over the last 3 seasons. Donaldson totaled 734 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024. Much like the aforementioned Ray and Clement, Donaldson will garner plenty of interest from the portal. Donaldson has shared the workload with sophomore running back Jahiem White each of the last two seasons.
The overwhelming argument that would be used in imploring Donaldson (and Jahiem White) to stay at WVU is the potential success he could have in Rich Rod’s offense, with the attack potentially looking similar to the Owen Schmitt/Steve Slaton combo of Rodriguez's first tenure at WVU.
Josiah Trotter
Redshirt freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter was a standout for the Mountaineer defense in 2024. Trotter finished the season with 93 total tackles, bringing him Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. Undoubtedly, this is a big loss for the Mountaineers and Trotter has already found a new home with the Missouri Tigers of the SEC.
What Comes Next?
While the transfer portal has beaten up on the Mountaineers a bit, there is great potential for Rich Rod to bring in the players that he wants as the West Virginia football program looks ahead to 2025.
Regarding the transfer portal and the current state of the football program at WVU, Rich Rod recently shared his thoughts on MetroNews Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval.
"But if they’re going to go chase the money and some school is going to pay some big money and more than we can pay, then that’s fine. I’ll go get another one. I don’t panic. A lot of folks sometimes panic. There’s a lot of good players out there," Rodriguez said.
"I’m not going to panic about it. It’s just disappointing, because there are some really good kids that probably get bad advice or go in the portal and it isn’t what they think it’s going to be. We’ll replace them. I’m not worried about it.”
Rodriguez seems confident that regardless of portal losses, the new-look Mountaineers will be poised for success in 2025.