West Virginia Signee Requests Release, Signs with Another Big 12 School

Tracking all of the movement on the West Virginia football roster is a 24/7 job at the moment, and through all of the chaos, there are still things that happen that take you by surprise, such as last night's move

Punter Chase Ridley, who signed with the Mountaineers in December during the early signing period, requested release of his National Letter of Intent and signed with Big 12 Conference foe, Arizona. In one way or another, this likely had something to do with WVU going out and landing the top punter in the transfer portal, Bryan Hansen of Colorado State. WVU likely knew it would have to replace Ridley as opposed to the idea of him seeking out of Morgantown because of the addition of Hansen.

The Colorado State transfer ranked third nationally in yards per punt (47.9) during the 205 season. 23 of his 57 punts went at least 50 yards, while five of them went 60+ yards.

The Mountaineers struggled mightily at times with their transition units in 2025, and it was something that bothered Rich Rodriguez all year long. Poor punt protection, shanked punts, not staying in coverage lanes, and not putting enough pressure on field goal attempts by the opposition. Landing Hansen will go a long way toward improving that third phase of the game in 2026.

Next season will be Hansen's final year of eligibility.

West Virginia's updated 2026 early signing period class

QB: Jyron Hughley, Wyatt Brown, John Johnson III

RB: Amari Latimer, Lawrence Autry, Martavious Boswell, Chris Talley, SirPaul Cheeks

WR: Charlie Hanafin, Malachi Thompson, Robert Oliver, Keon Hutchins, Kedrick Triplett, Landon Drumm, Greg Wilfred

TE: Sam Hamilton, Kade Bush, Xavier Anderson

OL: Aidan Woods, Camden Goforth, Lamarcus Dillard, Rhett Morris, Kevin Brown, Deshawn Woods, Jonas Muya

DL: Carter Kessler, Cam Mallory, Kamdon Gillespie, Yendor Mack, Jaylen Thomas

EDGE: Noah Tishendorf, Jeremiah Johnson

LB: Cameron Dwyer, Antoine Sharp Jr., Trey McGlothlin

CB: Makhi Boone, Simaj Hill, Vincent Smith, Rayshawn Reynolds, Da'Mun Allen

S: Jayden Ballard, Emory Snyder, Miles Khatri, S Da'Mare Williams, Rickey Giles, Matt Sieg

West Virginia's updated 2026 early signing period class

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