On the Rise! WVU Secures Spot in ESPN's Top 25 Recruiting Rankings

Much of West Virginia's 2026 recruiting class is in place, meaning the February signing period should be a relatively quiet one for Rich Rod and Co.

Others around the country may be a little more active, which could shuffle the recruiting rankings in the coming weeks, but as of this morning, Craig Haubert ranked WVU's class No. 23 on ESPN.

"In the golden days of his first stint at West Virginia, Rich Rodriguez turned overlooked three-stars such as Pat White and Steve Slaton into fantastic scheme fits. He's once again assembling a class that might lack star power but has plenty of depth, particularly at running back," Haubert wrote. "The Mountaineers have picked up commitments from high-three star Tennessee native Christopher Talley, plus a mid-July commitment from SirPaul Cheeks, who has the explosive lateral agility and ball skills to develop into an all-purpose threat. RB Amari Latimer could be the gem of the class with his size and speed at the RB position."

Cheeks, unfortunately, had a season-ending knee injury, cutting his senior year short, and won't be fully healthy until June, possibly July. So of the incoming backs, Latimer, who was named Mr. Georgia, is certainly the one to watch as the complementary back to Jacksonville State transfer Cam Cook.

Haubert also loves the additions of Kevin Brown to the offensive line and Matt Sieg to the secondary, each of which flipped from Penn State.

"When Rodriguez took over, he needed to patchwork the offensive line. Now he needs to upgrade it," he stated. "He took a big step in that direction by landing SC Next 300 OT Kevin Brown. The onetime Penn State commit and son of a former Mountaineers OL is a big, flexible player who could be a plug-and-play option.

"Matt Sieg, an SC Next 300 safety, is a huge pickup both from a value and need standpoint. West Virginia will lose a lot of experience in the secondary next season, but we think Sieg has the talent to contribute early in Morgantown."

Could this be the class that gets things turned around?

It may be a large class, but the way I think of it is that the staff is giving themselves more chances at hitting on some guys. Sure, it can go the other way, too, and be a group full of misses, but if you can get 20 or so of these dudes to be quality Big 12 football players, that's a win.

There is some top-shelf talent in this class that should be no doubters, such as Brown, Latimer, and Sieg. Guys like RB Chris Talley, OL Camden Goforth, OL Lamarcus Dillard, OL Rhett Morris, EDGE Noah Tishendorf, LB Cameron Dwyer, and CB Vincent Smith all have the skillset and potential to be multi-year contributors as well.

WVU's entire 2026 signing class

QB: Jyron Hughley, Wyatt Brown, John Johnson III

RB: Amari Latimer, Lawrence Autry, Martavious Boswell, Chris Talley, SirPaul Cheeks

WR: Charlie Hanafin, Malachi Thompson, Robert Oliver, Keon Hutchins, Kedrick Triplett, Landon Drumm, Greg Wilfred

TE: Sam Hamilton, Kade Bush, Xavier Anderson

OL: Aidan Woods, Camden Goforth, Lamarcus Dillard, Rhett Morris, Kevin Brown, Deshawn Woods, Jonas Muya

DL: Carter Kessler, Cam Mallory, Yendor Mack, Jaylen Thomas

EDGE: Noah Tishendorf, Jeremiah Johnson

LB: Cameron Dwyer, Antoine Sharp Jr., Trey McGlothlin

CB: Makhi Boone, Simaj Hill, Vincent Smith, Rayshawn Reynolds, Da'Mun Allen

S: Jayden Ballard, Emory Snyder, Miles Khatri, S Da'Mare Williams, Rickey Giles, Matt Sieg

Could this be the class that gets things turned around?

WVU's entire 2026 signing class

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