Recruits come and go as they change their mind in the craziness of the recruiting process. Recently, a 2026 running back commit to the West Virginia Mountaineers flipped to a Big Ten school in a tough loss for head coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff.
Three-star running back Jett Walker has flipped his commitment from WVU football to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Walker is a three-star running back according to 247Sports, and had been committed to the Mountaineers since April 2. Walker decommitted from WVU and committed to Minnesota on the same day, this past Monday.
BREAKING: Class of 2026 RB Jett Walker has Flipped his Commitment from West Virginia to Minnesota, he tells me for @rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 4, 2025
The 6’2 215 RB from Georgetown, TX had been Committed to the Mountaineers since April
“Ski-U-Mah, Row the Boat, Go Gophers 〽️”https://t.co/8Ze83XnnS7 pic.twitter.com/dKWy3suLaS
The Georgetown, Texas, native rushed for 2,351 yards and added 37 rushing touchdowns during his junior season. Walker added seven catches for 74 yards and one receiving touchdown last high school football season.
Walker is ranked as the 70th-best running back recruit in the 2026 class according to 247Sports and the 167th-ranked recruit in the state of Texas. Walker is a significant loss to the 2026 recruiting class for WVU football, but the Mountaineers also have running backs such as SirPaul Cheeks and Christopher Talley, both three-star recruits according to 247Sports, still committed in the class.
But make no mistake, losing a three-star running back from Texas is not a positive situation for Rodriguez and his staff. Could the reason that the Texas running back flipped his commitment from WVU to Minnesota be the season that WVU is currently having? That has not been disclosed, but it's always a possibility amidst a sturggling season.
Hopefully, this is the last of seeing 2026 recruits flip from WVU to other schools. The early football signing period for the Class of 2026 is from December 3 to December 5. Recruits who choose to sign during the early signing period in early December have the opportunity to enroll early and get a head start on their collegiate career.
WVU football fans will have to stay tuned to see if any more recruits will flip their commitment from WVU, or if WVU can turn the tables convince other recruits to flip their commitment from other schools to WVU.