'He's Going to Be Hell on Wheels': WVU Freshman Vincent Smith's Position Could Change

West Virginia's 2026 recruiting class was the largest in program history, but by the time it's all said and done, it could be one of the most talented. Amari Latimer, Kevin Brown, and Matt Sieg are the headliners, but there are several others who could pan out to be big-time players, including cornerback Vincent Smith.

Well, that's assuming he stays at cornerback.

On the current WVU roster, he is listed at 6'1", 215 pounds, but he's pushing 6'2" and has been a little heavier in the past (in a good way). Cornerbacks coach Rod West talked about how a misprint of his weight at a camp sort of helped WVU out.

“He went to an Under Armour or Rivals camp, and he ran a 4.42, and the card said 202 pounds. It was a typo. He weighed in at 220. But nobody knew that. So for me, I was like, I want to keep this quiet because if you can find a kid that’s 220 pounds that strong, that explosive, to me, I think big picture. In a few years, that kid is going to be 240 pounds, and he’s going to be hell on wheels. What position that is? We’ll see. I hope he stays at cornerback, but he’s a naturally big kid, and I think at some point you’re just going to see him get bigger, faster, stronger, and continue to grow.”

Even nickel/sam Geimere Latimer was fooled by what position he played, and to this day is still stunned that he is with the corners.

“I talk to my teammates about it all the time. I can’t believe it. He’s an athletic freak," Latimer said. "I think he’s going to be able to contribute at some point this season. I think he’s taking great strides through fall camp as well. A guy like that, you can’t teach that. I mean, that’s just God-given ability.”

Moving positions could certainly be in his future, be it to safety, nickel/sam, or maybe even WILL linebacker. How his body develops over the next year or so will tell the staff where he needs to go. Latimer sees a scenario where he could switch positions, but also believes that he'd be pretty darn good sticking at corner, too.

“Possibly. I mean, obviously he looks like a safety, like a third-year safety right now. He moves well to be his size. I would have thought myself that he would have been a safety. When he first came in, I thought he was a safety. He can move not only vertically or like in straight-line speed, he has lateral movement, lateral quickness as well.”

Smith's mom travels all around the world, and his uncle is a producer for Tyler Perry Studios, so he had a lot of responsibilities for a high schooler, and that's helped shape him into who he is today.

“Vincent has a great story. He comes from a tremendous family, hardworking young man. He’s pretty big. He’s about 215 right now. Extremely athletic, fast. He’s going to be a great player. And I think he could be one of those guys, too, in time, who can serve in a multitude of roles for us. We’re going to be excited to see how the season goes for him. I know he’s going to probably contribute on special teams early and hopefully some point throughout the season he can be contributing on defense as well.”

Smith is exactly the type of player who fits the description of someone who can challenge for playing time as a freshman. He's talented, physically ready, and works his tail off — something WVU saw during the recruiting process.

“He was so unusual for most 17-year-old kids — he would go to school, have a job, and then he’d drive an hour away to do DB training. Every day. So to me, that was very refreshing. I think a lot of the guys that you recruit now, they want attention: what can you do for them? Vincent was always a hard worker, so it was hard to get a hold of him sometimes because he may be either at work or training until 10 p.m. Every day he showed that maturity level, and we’ve been pleased to have him.”

The Orland Park, Illinois, product picked West Virginia over Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Purdue, USC, and several others.

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