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How WVU's 2020 Transfers Performed at Their New Schools

Things didn't pan out for many of these former Mountaineers.

The transfer portal is alive and well these days and since the portal is becoming such a national phenomenon, we figured we would take a look at how players who transferred from West Virginia a year ago fared with their new teams in 2020.

QB Jack Allison (West Liberty, D-II)

43/80 (54%) 478 passing yards, 5 TDs, 7 INTs.

QB Trey Lowe (Southern Miss)

36/59 (61%) 433 passing yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs | 44 carries, 104 rushing yards, 1 TD.

RB Martell Pettaway (Middle Tennessee)

Opted out of 2020 season.

TE Jovani Haskins (Rutgers)

6 receptions, 58 yards, 2 TDs.

WR Tevin Bush (Nicholls State)

10 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD | 7 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD.

WR Ricky Johns (Albany)

Transferred to Albany, no longer on the roster.

OL Josh Sills (Oklahoma State)

Started all 11 games for the Cowboys this past season and was named a first-team All-Big 12 selection by the AP and an honorable mention by the league’s coaches. Sills led the Cowboys offensive linemen with 35 knockdowns.

LB/S JoVanni Stewart (Houston)

17 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss. Had a season-high five tackles vs Central Florida. Stewart appeared in six games for the Cougars and made five starts at linebacker.

From an overall production standpoint, West Virginia didn't really lose much in the portal. Tevin Bush and Martell Pettaway were the only playmakers that the Mountaineers lost but those roles have since been filled by Winston Wright Jr. at receiver and a combination of Tony Mathis, A'varius Sparrow, and a pair of elite incoming freshmen (Justin Johnson Jr. and Jaylen Anderson) at running back. 

After losing out to Austin Kendall for the starting job, then sliding down to No. 3 on the depth chart, Jack Allison made the conscious decision to transfer out and go somewhere where he would have an opportunity to see the field and start. He started three games for the Division II West Liberty Hilltoppers but really struggled as you can see from the numbers above.

Josh Sills was without a doubt the biggest surprise when it comes to the portal and also turned out to be the biggest loss for West Virginia as well. At times, the overall play of the Mountaineers offensive line struggled and Sills' absence was noticeable. 

On the other side of the ball, JoVanni Stewart followed former WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen to Houston and became one of their most reliable defenders down the stretch. With that said, West Virginia had the No. 1 passing defense in the country in 2020, so although the loss of Stewart seemed to sting at the moment it happened, it didn't really affect the secondary all that much.  

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