WVU Football Offers Physically Imposing 6-Foot-7 NFL Academy DL In Class Of 2027

The West Virginia Mountaineers have had good luck with international-born defensive linemen before, such as current WVU defensive tackle Eddie Vesterinen. Now, it appears Rich Rodriguez and his staff are dipping back into the international recruiting pool once more at the position.

The Mountaineers have officially offered 6-foot-7, 260-pound defensive line prospect Augustine Irek. Irek currently plays for the NFL Academy, based in London, England – the organization is a global initiative being headed by the NFL which "aims to provide full-time high-school education alongside intensive training in American football under the guidance of a world class coaching staff."

Irek is originally from Cross River State, Nigeria, and was initially recruited to the NFL Academy after being discovered at the NFL Africa Camp. Before playing American football, Irek played basketball and soccer in his homeland. According to the captions on multiple highlight videos he's shared on X, formerly know as Twitter, he has only been playing organized American football for two months.

"[Coach Green] is wonderful and [WVU] is such an impressive organization. He is really nice and he got to know more about me and my family," Irek said regarding his offer.

WVU defensive line coach William Green offered the absolutely massive Irek after making the trip during the program's bye week to watch the NFL Academy play against the fourth-ranked high school team in the US, IMG Academy. His highlights from the game can be seen below. Irek also also earned FBS offers from Big Ten program UCLA and ACC program Duke so far, but has otherwise yet to garner a ton of buzz – likely because his career is just getting underway and he hasn't had a ton of exposure to college football coaches yet. But from his film, you can tell he has the potential to develop into a major weapon.