The Six True Freshmen Who Made West Virginia’s Initial Two-Deep

West Virginia's future looks bright with a bunch of talented youngsters set to play massive roles this season, be it as a starter or backup.

There were a few members of the 2026 recruiting class that we knew would see the field this fall, but a few others have played their way into the two-deep. As a matter of fact, the Mountaineers have six true freshmen listed in the two-deep for their Week 1 matchup against Coastal Carolina.

RB Amari Latimer

Shocked? Not whatsoever. Since the day he set foot on campus, Latimer has been the clear-cut No. 2 behind Cam Cook. As you can see in the above image, uh, that dude doesn't look like a freshman. The WVU staff hasn't been shy about hiding their excitement about him, and it's easy to see why. Although Cook will be the bell cow, they have a freshman stud who can be an impact player and carry a heavy workload, if necessary.

LT Kevin Brown

Brown was someone who could have started for the Mountaineers in the season finale against Texas Tech last year as a 17-year-old. He's THAT good. Now, obviously, he's going to go through his fair share of "welcome to college football" moments, but the strength and IQ are off the charts. We learned early in camp that he was repping on the left side, and that's where he will start. Asking him to protect Mike Hawkins' blindside shows you how much confidence they have in him.

LG Lamarcus Dillard

I really liked Dillard's film coming out of high school. It wasn't straight-up domination all the time like Kevin Brown's tape, but he was super consistent, and I'm assuming that's what he has done throughout fall camp to earn the role of backup left guard to Nick Krahe. He has snapped some, too, so he could potentially factor in at center down the line.

RT Aidan Woods

Can I say I called this one? In my signing day newser of Woods making it official, I said..."I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Woods sees the field much earlier than most would guess. And by that, I mean I think there's a legit chance he can help out as soon as next year. No, he's not going to start; that's for fellow incoming freshman Kevin Brown, but I do think he can line up in a similar role as a so-called tight end to give another big body up front or perhaps in at fullback, which is something Rodriguez hinted at trying to find a couple of weeks ago. There is a chance, though, that he sticks just at offensive tackle so he can develop and fine-tune his game."

And by next year, I meant the 2026 season, given that this was published in December. Woods saw a bunch of time as a blocking tight end during his senior year, which is why I mentioned the possibility of seeing some time there, strictly as an extension of the o-line. But it became pretty clear early on that they were just going to focus on his development at tackle, and rightfully so.

N/S Miles Khatri

This was one of the biggest surprises of yesterday's release. I had been hearing good things about Khatri, but it wasn't over-the-top praise or something I heard multiple times per week that made me think he is ready right now. He gives West Virginia a bigger, physical presence at the nickel/sam spot when they need it, a nice changeup from Geimere Latimer.

FS Matt Sieg

Not only was Sieg listed as a potential starter at free safety alongside Andrew Powdrell, but he was also an OR at punt returner and kick returner with DJ Epps. The National High School Player of the Year has extremely high expectations, but don't expect star-level play right away. He will show flashes for sure and make several plays, but playing significant snaps as a true freshman isn't easy. Still, he is without question one of the biggest building blocks on Zac Alley's defense, and once everything slows down for him, he will become one of the better players on that side of the ball for the Mountaineers.

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