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Throwback Thursday Special Edition: WVU Football Recruiting Disasters

A brief history of West Virginia's most interesting recruiting tales

With signing day in the rear view mirror and the 2020 class all but locked up, spirits are high for the first full class brought in by West Virginia’s Neal Brown. However, as Mountaineer fans have learned over the years, there is no such thing as a sure bet when it comes to recruiting.

In this special edition of Mountaineer Maven Throwback Thursday, we take a trip down memory lane and relive some of the greatest West Virginia football recruiting disasters.        
When it comes to recruiting stories, the one that is constantly etched into the minds of Mountaineer fans is certainly the strangest. That is, of course, the man, the myth, the legend: Tevita Finau.

A junior college defensive end, Finau was a well-regarded prospect and spent three years trying to play for the Mountaineers, even spending an entire calendar year in Morgantown without officially joining the team.

Academic issues plagued the man who became more ghost than player to West Virginia fans, signing multiple letters of intent before finally giving up and moving on from the program. To the ire of Mountaineers everywhere, he then proceeded to go on and play his final two years of eligibility at Utah.

Better yet, Finau went undrafted in the 2012 NFL draft before spending time on three different NFL rosters!

If the idea of recruiting disasters didn’t bring Tevita Finau to the mind, it almost certainly garnered thoughts of Jason Gwaltney. Oh, what could have been with Jason Gwaltney.

The all-time leading rusher on Long Island, Gwaltney was highly touted enough for Pete Carroll to call him and offer him on the night USC won the national championship in 2005 and receive comparisons to a fairly successful former Syracuse running back by the name of Jim Brown.

The top 10 recruit made it to Morgantown and maintained eligibility, one step further than Finau, even making it as far as playing in six games in 2005. In a crowded running back room, the freshman emerged as an outstanding prospect.

After those six games, a sprained knee ligament and academic struggles took Gwaltney off the field and eventually out of town. He went on to appear at a junior college before enrolling at West Virginia again.

Unfortunately, his behavioral issues reared their heads again, keeping him from reaching his elite potential until he ran for over 1400 yards in his final season at Division III Kean University. He trained and was evaluated for the NFL draft but was not selected or signed to a free agent contract.

It was not all negative for Gwaltney but he had little impact on the ultimate outcome. As a result of his time at West Virginia, his younger half-brother Scooter Berry decided to join the Mountaineers, becoming one of the best defensive linemen of the mid-2000s.

A few years later, similar hype to that Gwaltney received was reciprocated to a pair that were expected to lead the Mountaineers through Bill Stewart’s first years in Morgantown. When childhood friends Tajh Boyd and Logan Heastie committed to West Virginia, the fanbase was thrilled as the two blue chip recruits were expected to continue the success brought on by the likes of Pat White and Steve Slaton.

As t-shirts reading “Boyd to Heastie” circulated, Mountaineers were at a fever pitch. Soon, the hammer fell.

Boyd de-committed after an uninspiring performance against Syracuse and then things got weird. Stewart proceeded to openly call out Boyd’s father Tim in the media for swaying his son’s decision, leading to a firestorm online, including the infamous “THIS IS TAJH BOYD'S FATHER” message board thread.

Heastie decided to honor his commitment but his time with the Mountaineers did not last long either. He struggled to see the field as a freshman and was gone from the program the following spring.

Eventually, Tajh Boyd came back around for West Virginia as an opponent, playing under center for Clemson in the infamous “South Beach Smackdown” Orange Bowl. Needless to say, “Boyd to Heastie” never came together for the Mountaineers.

Heastie was not the only well-regarded receiver to leave in the spring of 2010 with Washington, DC native Deon Long departing before his freshman year ever began. He went on to spend a redshirt season at New Mexico State before becoming the leading receiver for the Lobos the next year.

His journey continued for his sophomore season, spending a year in junior college before playing out his last two seasons close to home at Maryland. Long had a bit more success against the Mountaineers than Boyd did as the Terrapins went 1-1 against West Virginia with him on the roster.

Between the two games, he made ten catches for 136 yards. Long had multiple brief NFL stints as an un-drafted free agent.

The Mountaineers’ quarterback in that first Maryland game was a member of arguably the most disastrous class in school history. That class is, of course, the 2012 group headlined by Ford Childress.

Childress came in looking to be the prototype quarterback for Dana Holgorsen’s Air Raid system. Simply put, he was not.

He made a pair of starts, going 1-1 against William & Mary and Maryland before tearing his pectoral muscle and missing the remainder of his freshman year. Ultimately, he was suspended indefinitely by Holgorsen following the season and chose not to re-enroll for the spring semester.

The target that was expected to form a connection with Childress in that class was Deon-Tay McManus, another four-star prospect who signed with the Mountaineers over Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, and many others.

McManus never made it to campus, landing at a prep school in Georgia. The big names backed off and the former blue chipper wound up in the state, but in Huntington at Marshall.

With fall camp breaking in 2012, McManus was not the only top prospect to make it to Morgantown. Linebacker Sam Lebbie was expected to revitalize a West Virginia defense that struggled in its first years in the Big 12.

He also headed to prep school for a year before, interestingly enough, joining a Troy program that would be taken over by Neal Brown ahead of his sophomore season. After a solid career, Lebbie graduated but did not pursue a professional career.

2012 was supposed to be the class that launched Dana Holgorsen’s program into the top level of the Big 12. Instead, it exposed some of the biggest flaws the now-Houston coach’s philosophy has.

The last story here is likely one of the most outrageous, yet least talked about recruiting stories in West Virginia football history.

In 2003, Rich Rodriguez secured a commitment from a massive recruit in record-setting Ohio Mr. Football Raymond Williams. Rushing for over 7000 career yards, Williams looked like a perfect fit for the speedy option style Rodriguez was implementing with the Mountaineers.

However, he would never play a down of Division I college football.

On April 16, 2004, Williams and two of his high school teammates, Jon Huddleston and Lorenzo Hunter, attempted to rob Rodney Roberts in Cleveland. In response, Roberts shot at the three men, killing Hunter as Williams and Huddleston fled.

Williams eventually pled guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Lorenzo Hunter. Receiving five years’ probation, he was required to follow several specific stipulations during that period.

Enrolling at Toledo in 2005, Williams joined the football team for spring practice in 2006. Unfortunately, his off-field issues continued to plague him.

Accusations of stealing from the campus bookstore and a charge of failure to confine and vaccinate a pitbull, in addition to a ruling of academic ineligibility for the upcoming season put Williams on thin ice with his legal troubles. Eventually, a failed drug test seemed to end his chances of playing college ball, but a dispute in the test’s accuracy led to his release nine days later.

Williams went on to play Division II ball at Shaw University where he finished his college years.

West Virginia has always had to develop recruits at a high level to be successful. As seen here, sometimes, those with the most anticipation can lead to the most disappointment as well.

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