WVU football starting offensive lineman plans to enter transfer portal

WVU football continues to hemorrhage players from its 2025 roster, with the latest loss coming along the offensive line.

The Mountaineers saw their 29th player hit the portal on Monday when reports broke that indicated offensive lineman Donovan Haslam plans to enter the transfer portal once it opens on January 2nd. Haslam spent just the 2025 season with the Mountaineers after beginning his career at Austin Peay, and started five games for West Virginia this past season.

Haslam appeared in all 12 games for WVU this past season and started the final five contests of the season, logging four starts at left guard and one start at right guard. Haslam had previously made 24 appearances and nine starts at left tackle at Austin Peay over his first three seasons, and will enter the portal boasting over 1,200 career stats.

Haslam becomes the sixth WVU offensive lineman to enter the portal, and the second with starting experience at the FBS level. The departures come after the Mountaineers saw significant struggles along the offensive line for the entire season, which severely hampered the offense's production. However, Haslam's play typically looked a bit better than those he replaced once he entered the starting rotation, and had been penciled in by many as a potential starter next season.

The move also may be motivated by a coming coaching change on the offensive line, as it has been reported that the Mountaineers intend to hire veteran offensive line coach Rick Trickett to their staff, who served in the same role for the Mountaineers during from 2001-2006 during current head coach Rich Rodriguez's first stint at WVU. EerSports also reported separately on Monday that the Mountaineers are not expected to retain current offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. next season.