Tobi Haastrup Could Be the Next Big Thing for WVU, But It May Take Time

One of the most overlooked signings in the transfer portal, at least nationwide, is Oregon pass rusher Tobi Haastrup (6'3", 252 lbs) landing with West Virginia. The former four-star recruit could have gone anywhere, and yet, he chose to come to Morgantown and be a part of the wave of players who take this program to the next level.

The London, England native did not pick up football until his senior year of high school and still quickly turned himself into a coveted recruit, reeling in offers from several Power Four programs such as Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, Ole Miss, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, and several others. Before he began playing football, he was into soccer and track and field.

Although he may be a raw talent on the football field, he's already a physical specimen.

“Obviously, Oregon did really well this past year, and Tobi is a special kid," West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley said last week. "I think he’s studying neuroscience. I think he wants to be a neurosurgeon, so he’s pretty smart. And based on the recruiting process, he might be the least successful person in his family if he does that because they’ve got a heck of a lineage there. Obviously, he’s got a great pedigree, but hadn’t played. There’s a transition to try and play more now, so excited to see what he can do. We hadn’t had a lot of situations where his pass-rush skill set showed up yet. We’re on day two, and it’s still 1st and 10 all the time.”

During his freshman year with the Ducks, Haastrup saw limited action in three games against Oklahoma State, Northwestern, and Oregon State, making just one tackle. In his one and only year of prep ball at Mayde Creek in Houston, Texas, he racked up 48 tackles, 23 QB hurries, 20 tackles for loss, and nine sacks. Pretty insane production for playing the sport for the first time and in the hotbed of elite high school football.

While he looks the part and had the big-time offers out of high school to go with it, this is more of a long-term play for the Mountaineers. He still needs to develop, clean up his technique, and understand how to use his strength and quickness properly. He'll have a role this fall, but it remains to be seen how large of one he'll have on defense.