WVU Battling Four Big 12 Schools for Tight End Who Spent Time in Chargers Minicamp

Recruiting is wild these days in college sports. On the basketball side of things, you have G League players making their way down to college, and in football, a new door has opened, and the Mountaineers are looking to take advantage.

Tight end Nathaniel Salmon, who spent the rookie minicamp with the Los Angeles Chargers, has been cleared by the NCAA and is looking to make a move to college football. Salmon is a former professional basketball player and made the switch to football somewhat recently, and is a part of the NFL's International Player Pathway program, which gives those overseas a chance to try out in front of NFL scouts and attempt to eventually find their way onto a roster.

The NFL IPP has produced just a handful of players for the league, but Salmon could be the start of a wave of players who make the move to college football if they don't land a contract through the program. Salmon is eligible because he only participated in the Chargers' rookie minicamp and did not sign a contract.

Salmon received an offer from West Virginia, but is also being pursued by other Big 12 schools such as Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, and Utah. He already has official visits set with Arizona State next week, which WVU will be in town for, and November 20-23 at Utah. WVU has been loading up on visitors for their regular season finale against Texas Tech at the end of the month, so that's where they could try to squeeze him in, just ahead of signing day.

Salmon had never played football until 2024, but was selected as one of 14 players to join the NFL's International Player Pathway program. In 2022, he played for the Manawatu Jets of the National Basketball League (NBL) in New Zealand and then the Wellington Saints in 2023 of the same league.

WVU could potentially get an extra year from Grayson Barnes, but will have Ryan Ward and Noah Braham returning at tight end. Also, WVU has two tight ends committed in the 2026 class in Sam Hamilton and Kade Bush.

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