Neal Brown Comments on Each Signee from WVU's 2023 Recruiting Class

The West Virginia football program received an infusion of young talent on Wednesday as 17 recruits signed their National Letters of Intent to play for the Mountaineers. As always, head coach Neal Brown held a press conference to discuss the class, and this year, he gave the media a few comments about each player.

QB Sean Boyle

"He's a really solid player. He's a guy that's kind of flying under the radar and when people see him this spring at the spring game and at a couple of the open practices, they're going to be like, 'hey, where'd this guy come from?' You're talking about a two-time state champion. He played in an offense that has allowed him to win a lot of games at Charlotte Catholic but his stats just haven't been off the charts because they run the football. But he's a highly talented guy. His mom, Michelle, is actually from Morgantown and is a WVU grad. He's really smooth. Even though he's from Charlotte, he really grew up a West Virginia fan. Two-time state champion."

RB Jahiem White

"Jahiem White is special. He's going to be a fan favorite. He's small in size but he's dynamic. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He's an inside, outside runner. He's almost got 6,000 rushing yards and has over 10 yards a carry."

RB DJ Oliver

"DJ played for Tanner Jones. Tanner Jones was a quarterback for us at Troy when I was an assistant coach there back in the mid-2000s. He's a BIG league back. He's 240 pounds. I think the neat thing about him is he's a state finalist in the shotput, he's a finalist in the 100 meters, and he's a state finalist in weight lifting. I think kind of a steal late in the process

WR Traylon Ray

"He plays three sports. He's a baseball player and probably good enough to play at this level. Plays basketball. Walked in to watch him a few weeks ago and the first thing I saw was a slam. Also a really good kickoff and punt returner."

WR Rodney Gallagher III

"Rodney was probably as integral of a recruit that we've had here in my tenure. He's an All-American and we've treated him like a local player the whole time. I'll describe it as this, the exit I take to get off to my house every single day, it says Uniontown. He's got a PA address, but he's a local product. Probably the most highly recruited guy outside of Wyatt [Milum] within our local area since I've been the head coach here."

WR/TE Tory Johnson Jr.

"He's an early grad and a legacy as well. Tory Sr. played here. His mom, Tiffany, is a WVU grad. They've bled gold and blue since the beginning. Two-time state champion. To watch his progression, he's come to camp three years, and to watch him grow...he'll start as kind of an inside receiver but he's going to grow into I think a premier tight end."

TE Noah Braham

"Obviously dad, Rich, walked on here as a tight end and really developed into one of the top offensive linemen that's ever played here at WVU. Noah is going to give us a ton of versatility. I think he can play a number of different positions. We're going to start him at kind of an H-back and then, I think as he goes, he's going to not only be really good in that role but he could play defense as well. He has that skill set. He's going to be a great special teams player."

OT Johnny Williams IV

"When I went to see him, he filled up the whole doorframe of his house. He's an early grad. He's been a four-year starter in high school and one of the top tackles in the country.

OL Nick Krahe

"I really believe he will be a multiple-year starter here. He's a great basketball player. Goes for a double-double. 4.0 plus GPA. How do you get higher than a 4.0?"

OL Cooper Young

"Really good baseball player. He's been All-Region in baseball. And he's a guy that we had in camp multiple times and is one of the top interior linemen in the whole country."

DE Oryend Fisher

"This guy has a ton of potential and we want to play him on the edge. He can play the field or boundary. He's 6'6", 215, I bet he'll be 240 by the time the season rolls around. He had 25 sacks in two seasons and that's impressive.

DE Zachariah Keith

"He's got 20 sacks the last two years. Body-type wise he's going to remind you a lot of Sean Martin when you see him. All-state in Georgia, really high upside.'

LB Josiah Trotter

"He was the defensive leader in this class. He's a state champion. His brother is playing at a high level at Clemson. His father was obviously a longtime NFL player. And he played at an extremely high level this year at Saint Joseph's Prep. We're excited about him. He's got a chance to come in and play right away. He'll be here in January."

LB James Heard

"Pass rusher that's got speed. He hasn't been blocked all year at Camden High School. He's going to add something to us and he'll help us on third downs for sure from the first game on. He'll be here in January. He had 18 sacks in nine games. He's an elite pass rusher. He'll be a guy that will play from our first game."

LB Ben Cutter

"Just got done with the Shrine Bowl and he won a state championship in North Carolina. He's going to be here in January and he's going to be able to play right now. He was underrecruited for a while and as he continued to play, he got more and more popular with a lot of schools. I think he'll be a factor for us next year."

CB Josiah Jackson

"An early grad that we've seen live multiple times. He's going to be able to compete right away at corner. He played in the U.S. Army Bowl last week. He was first-team All-Ohio. We saw him live two years ago and it was no question in our mind that he had the length, the versatility. He was going to be a guy for us.

CB Jordan Jackson

"His best football is ahead of him. He played running back in high school. He's going to transition He's one of the top track athletes in the state of Ohio as well."

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