This week featured a three-day dead period in the transfer portal forbidding in-person contact or visits, but it has come to a close and the Mountaineers have now added their first commitment since the period ended, landing a cornerback who earned significant game experience at the FBS level as a freshman.
Jaire Rawlison, who spent the last two seasons at Kent State, announced on Friday he was committing to the Mountaineers.
West Virginia Mountaineers add MAC starter to secondary with Jaire Rawlison
As a true freshman, Rawlison played in four games wit two starts as a true freshman and used his redshirt, tallying 21 tackles and one pass deflection. This past season as a redshirt freshman, Rawlison started all 12 games for the Golden Flashes and finished the season with 54 tackles and six passes defended.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Rawlison was targeted 60 times and allowed 35 receptions, giving up 399 yards and eight touchdowns. His final PFF grades for the 2025 season were 65.6 in coverage, 69.3 run defense, and 85.5 as a tackler. The Golden Flashes defensive unit finished 125th in FBS in total defense in 2025, and was 102nd nationally in pass defense.
Rawlison becomes the 28th commitment in the transfer portal this offseason for the Mountaineers, and the fifth cornerback – he joins Chams Diagne (Georgia State), Andrew Powdrell (UNLV), Geimere Latimer (Wisconsin), and Maliek Hawkins (Oklahoma) at his postion. The Mountaineers return just four scholarship players from last season's team at the position, and has also added five signees in the Class of 2026, including four-star prospect Vincent Smith and a pair of JUCO signees among the top recruits at the position at that level.