West Virginia football would like to add yet another piece to their secondary before the start of next season.
Given that the Mountaineers’ secondary was a noticeable weak spot for the team last season, it's no surprise that little was kept from the previous iteration under former coach Neal Brown. New Head Coach Rich Rodriguez and his defensive coordinator Zac Alley have already added 13 new pieces across their secondary, but are looking to add the finishing touches to the rebuild.
The Mountaineers have their eyes on JUCO transfer Aaron Edwards, who lists himself as both a safety and an outside linebacker -- the Mountaineers seem to believe has the versatility to fill a role at both nickel and linebacker in Alley’s scheme. He recently released his Top 4 schools, with West Virginia making the cut alongside a trio of Group of 5 programs in Tulsa, UTEP, and UTSA.
Edwards spent this past season at JUCO program Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, only making an appearance in the first two games of the season -- he recorded eight tackles, one pass breakup, and one forced fumble. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
"The relationship I have with Coach Alley," Edwards told West Virginia on SI. "He’s been telling me how good I’ll be in the defense and how I can make it to the NFL as well. They’re very interested in me, so that’s why they made my top list of schools.
Edwards has official visits lined up with Tulsa from June 6th-June 8th and with WVU from June 13th-June 15th. There is a possibility Edwards may want to remain closer to home -- he’s an Oklahoma City native and his other three options are all much closer to home, including an in-state program in Tulsa. But if he decides he wants to try his hand at the Power 4 level, West Virginia will seem like an attractive option.