Will WVU Make Any Moves When the 5th-Year Portal Window Opens?

Looking at the Mountaineers' roster numbers and whether they will make an addition in August.

Nov 8, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez celebrates after defeating the Colorado Buffaloes at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Chaos has once again hit the college football world (and college athletics as a whole) as a judge in Colorado granted a class-wide preliminary injunction to all student-athletes of the 2022 class, giving them a fifth year of eligibility. This is not a final decision, however, as the NCAA will appeal the ruling, and it will be up to the Tenth Circuit to decide whether or not Judge Charlotte Sweeney's ruling is upheld.

With this currently in place, a transfer portal window will open on August 3rd and close on August 10th, but will only be accessible for those who were just granted a fifth year.

This decision obviously led West Virginia fans to think about the possibility of guys like nickel/sam Fred Perry, defensive lineman Eddie Kelly Jr., and others returning for one more season. Kelly has informed West Virginia On SI that he would like to return to WVU, but the staff will have some decisions to make with its roster.

By my count, I've got West Virginia currently at 118 players. Obviously, some of those are players who were grandfathered in when roster limits were put in place, allowing WVU (and many others) to go over that 105 number for the time being. That count does not include incoming freshman running back SirPaul Cheeks, who is still the only player not listed on the roster or enrolled.

How many of those players are grandfathered in is anyone's guess. It could be 13, meaning WVU is full, or it could be more than that, and they have some room to add. You would think that the NCAA would do the right thing and expand rosters for the 2026-27 school year if this ruling holds up, but it's the NCAA, and you can't ever count on them to do anything that makes sense.

WVU could see some familiar faces back in the fold, but they could also look around in the portal for help, too. The number of impact players that will be available will be scarce, considering these are players who graduated and are not with an NFL team. That doesn't mean you can't find some help or add depth at a certain position, but it's unlikely you're going to find a game-changer in this unexpected portal window.

Don't expect a last-minute shopping spree. That said, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them adding someone from the outside, but it's probably more likely at this point that they take back one of last year's seniors, assuming they have continued working out and are at a healthy weight for their position.

Cornerback, defensive line, and tight end are all positions to watch.