WVU football opens weekend by losing safety, adding punter in the transfer portal

The West Virginia Mountaineers saw the transfer portal madness continue on Friday as the weekend signals the start of the second week of the transfer portal.

Thing started off with bad news for WVU football, as safety Chris Fileppo officially entered the transfer portal. He reportedly is being targeted by Penn State. He was a true freshman for the Mountaineers in 2025 and was used often as a depth piece, racking up 12 tackles and appearing in all 12 games with one start.

But the Mountaineer also added a player to the roster on Friday as they picked up a commitment from transfer punter Bryan Hansen. Hansen spent his first four seasons at Colorado State, where he was a walk-on in 2022 before earning a role handling kickoff duties in the middle of the 2023 season. He was the team's starter o on the kickoff team for the entirety of the 2024 season, recording 62 kickoffs for 3,870 yards and 28 touchbacks.

Last season he shifted into a role as the team's starting punter, and recorded 57 punts for 2,730 yards, good for an average of 47.9 yards per punt. He booted 23 punts of 50-or-more yards, pinned 13 punts inside the 20 yard line, and added five touchbacks in the role in 2025.

Hansen joins Australian signee Chase Ridley as punters set to join the roster next year, but with Ridley's arrival date still in question, the Mountaineers have secured an immediate answer at the position next season while also adding a potential kickoff man as well. They will replace the graduating Oliver Straw, who served as a multi-year starter at punter for WVU.