For fans of the West Virginia Mountaineers who were worried following a pair of decommitments in their 2026 recruiting class over the weekend, Monday has proven a very optimistic start to the offseason.
With defensive back Emani Peterson and top JUCO wideout Keon Hutchins choosing to back off on their verbal commitments to WVU football over the weekend, fans were wondering what exactly was going on with late moves. On the defensive side of the ball, those worries are quickly being quelled as the Mountaineers have now landed a trio of JUCO defensive back commits on Monday. After the Mountaineers landed a pair of Top 15 cornerbacks in Da'Mun Allen and Rayshawn Reynolds, they alos snagged a highly-ranked safety in Da'Mare Williams.
Extremely blessed to be in this position! Morgantown let’s do it! I’m a mountaineer ⛰️Recruitment shut down‼️#HardEdge @RealCoachRod @WVUfootball @CoachRich_23 @Red_Raven_FB #JUCOPRODUCT pic.twitter.com/nrXR2i0f5r
— Da’Mare Williams 6’3 205 (@DaMareWilliams3) December 1, 2025
Williams, a three-star prospect and the sixth-ranked JUCO safety in his class according to the 247Sports composite rankings, visited Houston, Kentucky, and UCF over the final two weeks of the regular season, and committed to the Wildcats just last Friday.
However, he still took a visit to Morgantown during WVU's loss to Texas Tech this past weekend, then decommited from Kentucky on Sunday amidst the program firing head coach Mark Stoops. Less than one day later announced he was headed to Morgantown. A 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, Williams adds to a trend seen with the day's earlier two JUCO defensive back commits by beefing up the WVU secondary with some serious size that it had been lacking this season.
The Mountaineers are now up to 34 verbal commits in the Class of 2026 between high school and JUCO prospects, and have the 32nd-best class nationally according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Early National Signing Day is set for this Wednesday.