West Virginia Lands Second Transfer Portal Commitment on Defense

West Virginia University defensive coordinator Zach Alley has secured the program’s second commitment out of the NCAA Transfer Portal in as many days, landing UNLV linebacker Isaiah Patterson shortly after defensive lineman Will LeBlanc pledged to the Mountaineers on Saturday.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound linebacker appeared in all 14 games for the Rebels last season and finished the year with 46 tackles. His production included 1.5 tackles for loss and a shared sack. He turned in his best performance of the season in the Mountain West Championship Game, recording a career-high seven tackles, and capped the year with six stops against Ohio in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl.

Patterson signed with UCLA out of high school and appeared in one game as a freshman before transferring to UNLV.

Coming out of high school, Patterson was regarded as a three-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals. He was ranked as the No. 31 linebacker nationally by 247Sports and listed among the top prospects in the state of Washington, checking in at No. 10 by 247Sports and No. 13 by ESPN. Rivals rated him as the No. 43 linebacker in the country and the No. 6 prospect in Washington.

Patterson has three years of eligibility remaining.

West Virgnia returns linebackers - Ben Cutter (Jr.), Ben Bogle(r-Jr.), Ashton Woods (r-Fr), and Cam Torbor (Fr.). The Mountaineer coaching staff signed four linebackers as part of the 2026 class - Trey McGlothlin, Cameron Dwyer, Antoine Sharp, and Miles Khatri.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI