West Virginia Adds DL Transfer Emerson Joy From Canadian College

An outside-the-box pick-up for the Mountaineers.

University of Alberta

It's late May, but Rich Rodriguez is not finished adding to the West Virginia 2026 football roster. Options in the transfer portal at this point in the offseason are limited, but they identified a piece that may be able to help them out this fall in defensive lineman Emerson Joy (6'6", 240 lbs) from the University of Alberta (Canada).

Joy played two seasons with the Golden Bears, combining for 28 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. This season alone, he racked up 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks.

Where Joy fits in along the West Virginia defensive line

Considering he will be arriving late, it's probably going to be a bit of an uphill battle for him in year one in terms of seeing the field. A more realistic goal is making an impact on special teams and helping out on the scout team this fall. Joy will need to fill out his frame and add some more strength to be able to compete at the Big 12 level, so a developmental year in 2026 could set him up to make a push for playing time on Alley's defense in 2027.

West Virginia's 2026 Transfer Portal Class

Offense: QB Michael Hawkins Jr. (Oklahoma), RB Cam Cook (Jacksonville State), WR DJ Epps (Troy), WR Prince Strachan (USC), WR John Neider (UConn), WR TaRon Francis (LSU). OL Devin Vass (Kansas State), OL Cameron Griffin (Jacksonville State), OL Carsten Casady (UCONN), OL Amare Grayson (Jacksonville State), OL Wes King (Wyoming).

Defense: DL Ezekiel Durham-Campbell (Coastal Carolina), DL Will LeBlanc (Texas Permian Basin), DL Emerson Joy (Alberta), EDGE David Afogho (Bowling Green), EDGE Harper Holloman (Western Kentucky), EDGE Tobi Haastrup (Oregon), LB Malachi Hood (Illinois), LB Isaiah Patterson (UNLV), LB Tyler Stolsky (Florida Atlantic), CB Chams Diagne (Georgia State), CB Andrew Powdrell (UNLV), CB Geimere Latimer (Wisconsin), CB Maliek Hawkins (Oklahoma), CB Jaire Rawlison (Kent State), S Kamari Wilson (Memphis), S Jacob Bradford (LSU).

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