WVU Defensive Lineman Retires

A career cut short for one Mountaineer d-lineman.

West Virginia was in the mix for defensive lineman Zeiqui Lawton coming out of South Charleston High School back in 2020 but he ultimately chose to sign at Cincinnati. After one year with the Bearcats, Lawton hopped in the transfer portal and decided to return home and play for the Mountaineers.

Unfortunately, his time in the gold and blue didn't go as planned. He appeared in just one game due to an undisclosed injury, one that has never fully recovered. During his press conference on Wednesday, head coach Neal Brown announced that Lawton is no longer with the team.

"Zeiqui has medically retired. He had a deal that... it just really was a struggle. Great kid and fully support him."

Fortunately, West Virginia has an incredible amount of depth up front on the defensive line and should be able to replace Lawton's role due to the numbers they have. Brown will continue to search for help in the portal at all spots, including the d-line, but it's a group that has a pretty solid two-deep at the moment.