The West Virginia Mountaineers limped to a 4-8 finish last season in large part due to struggles along the offensive line. And with the transfer portal open and active, WVU football has now taken another major step towards finding a solution to the problem.
The Mountaineers landed a commitment on Wednesday night from Devin Vass, who spent the past three seasons at Kansas State and was a prominent starter among the team's offensive line this past season. Vass started made nine appearances for the Wildcats and started seven contests at right guard during the 2025 season, and played 420 snaps – and gave up zero penalties. He also recorded 199 pass snaps and allowed zero sacks and just eight hurries.
"He is geared to make a major impact on the offensive line in 2026," Dan LaForest, who serves as an agent for Vass, told EerSports. "Devin Vass is a blue-collar kid who earns everything he gets," LaForest said. "That will continue to be his M.O. He will earn everything he gets."
Vass entered the portal after the season came to end for Kansas State and head coach Chris Klieman announced his retirement. During the season, Vass drew significant praise from Klieman for his efforts up front.
"The Devin Vasses of the world, those are the stories you love to hear at K-State because maybe he was our 10th lineman coming into fall camp, and how he's arguably playing as well as anybody up front," Klieman said.
The Mountaineers are working hard to rebuild their offensive line after last year's struggles, hiring new offensive line coach Rick Trickett – who previously worked with head coach Rich Rodriguez at WVU and Jacksonville State – and signing four-star offensive tackle prospect Kevin Brown in their 2026 high school signing class. Vass becomes the first offensive lineman to commit to the Mountaineers in the portal this offseason.