Ben Cutter Gives Clear Answer on Whether He'll Return to WVU in 2027

The veteran linebacker knows what he wants to do.

WVU Athletics Communications

The NCAA is moving to a new age-based eligibility model, which will give student-athletes five years to play five. This means that players entering their senior year this fall who haven't used a redshirt, like West Virginia linebacker Ben Cutter, will have the opportunity to return in 2027.

Although the rule just went into place, Cutter already had his mind made up as to what he wants to do following this upcoming season.

“Yeah, absolutely," he responded when asked on 3 Guys Before the Game if he plans to come back for a fifth year. "Not even a question. I think I knew the whole time that if I did get the opportunity, I would take it and play here another year. But I didn’t want to get my hopes up for that, and I had to start thinking about what I’m going to do after this season, too. But now that it’s here, there’s not much thought that needs to go into it.”

Because Cutter doesn't have elite size or speed, it's very likely that he will go undrafted when his career is up at WVU. He still may pursue a career in the NFL as an undrafted free agent or in another league, but he already has a good idea as to what he will do when his playing career ends, whenever that may be.

“I think I’m going to go home and try to be a fireman," he told Tony Caridi. "A lot of my buddies back home want to do it, and their dads are firemen getting retired now and kind of living the life out there.”

Cutter is a Mountaineer through and through, despite having very little to no knowledge about the program or the state before coming here. He told reporters back in the spring that he never once thought about entering the transfer portal when the coaching change was made a year ago and explained why his plan was to finish his career with WVU.

“I love this state. I love this team. I don’t think there’s anything that could pull me out of here. And I want to be able to be a West Virginia fan for the rest of my life. I don’t know what people do, transferring around four different schools. Like, who do you support when you’re done playing college football? I want to support the Mountaineers, so that’s why I’m still here.”