West Virginia 2020 Recruiting Class Superlatives
Over a year into his tenure as West Virginia's head man, Neal Brown finally has a full recruiting class to his name and, all things considered, it's a solid one. The Mountaineers secured commitments from 20 prospects spanning the JUCO and high school ranks, as well as the now en vogue NCAA transfer portal. As a composite, the class heavily addressed needs on both the offensive and defensive lines while also adding some exciting talent at the skill positions.
As with every recruiting cycle, there are headliners, surprises and potential diamonds in the rough. While there are still several weeks left in this class's signing period, it seems that Neal Brown and his staff have all but sealed the lid on a very respectable class that shows a lot of promise. Now it's time to hand out some superlatives for West Virginia's 2020 signees.
Biggest Get - (TIE) Garrett Greene, QB, Chiles HS, Tallahassee, FL & Sean Martin, DE, Bluefield HS, Bluefield, WV
This is probably the hardest call given that it's such a consistently solid class across the board and either of these would have stood as correct answers, individually. However, West Virginia needs a quarterback of the future to build around almost as much as it needs to continue bolstering a strong defensive front that the blue bloods of college football have on assembly line-scale.
Greene is the answer on offense, given his bona fides as an Elite 11 Finalist and one of the top-25 players at his position nationally. He's a pure dual threat that rushed and passed for over 5,400 combined yards in his high school career at the Florida 7A level. He also possesses a rocket arm that he displayed on both the turf and the diamond where he featured as a catcher with collegiate potential. Greene is already enrolled and on the field with the Mountaineers and has a Baker Mayfield-esque aura that already has many in media circles buzzing about him pushing for playing time as a true freshman. Given that West Virginia is down yet another quarterback due to Trey Lowe III's intention to transfer, the odds that we see Greene in year one are looking better and better each day.
Then there's Martin, a one-time North Carolina commit and the highest rated in-state player this recruiting cycle. If there's anything Neal Brown learned on the fly, it's that West Virginia prospects, especially ones with national press, simply can't be allowed to fly across state lines. With Martin, West Virginia gets a big, 6'6" edge presence that can easily beef up towards the 300 pound mark. Could we see Martin and the brothers Stills wreak havoc on Big 12 offenses next year? Mountain Mama would beam with pride. Bonus points to Martin for also joining his teammate and talented punter Kaulin Paris who will greatly help West Virginia's special teams play. Make no mistake, though, this is a huge recruiting coup for Neal Brown and co. and Martin has potential star power and carries with him the state pride that will make him a fan favorite from day one.
Let it be clear: Greene and Martin are your future keystones on either side of the ball. Get ready.
Biggest Surprise - Eddie Watkins, DE, Hillcrest HS, Evergreen, AL
There weren't too many fringe prospects for Neal Brown and his staff in this recruiting cycle. Most of the commitments the Mountaineers received were known quantities and while there were a handful of battles being fought going into the home stretch of February's National Signing Day, far and away the biggest surprise was when news broke that West Virginia ran all the way down to Crimson Tide country to earn the services of edge rusher Eddie Watkins.
A Georgia Tech pledge early in his recruiting process, Watkins saw his star gradually rise and, with that, came offers from numerous Power 5 schools such as Ole Miss, Missouri, Arizona, Kentucky and Purdue. In fact, it looked like Arizona and Missouri were in pole position up until the final hour but credit now-former assistant Al Pogue for putting the full-court press on Watkins and eventually securing his letter of intent. Watkins, who is currently a long, lean 6'3", 220 pounds, has all the tools to come in and compete from day one at either Bandit, which is currently depth-deprived, or possibly beef up and work at one of the defensive end positions. Either way, in its goal of building an offense-busting defensive unit, West Virginia did exceptional work in grabbing a high ceiling-prospect that few saw landing in Morgantown.
Mr. Versatility - David Vincent-Okoli, DB/WR/KR, The Bullis School, Gaithersburg, MD
West Virginia has had some rousing success over the years farming the state of Maryland (cough, Tavon Austin, cough), and Vincent-Okoli might just be the next Beltway-bred star- in-the-making for the Mountaineers. To put it plainly, DVO, is fast. How fast? Try 21.78 seconds in the 200m. For perspective, current Mountaineers blazer Sam James destroyed high school competition in Georgia with a 21.93 200m time. That's just absurd, and is likely the reason that the 5'11", 180 pound athlete was able to be an x-factor at multiple positions in high school, lining up at receiver, corner and even pitching in on special teams.
A four star recruit according 247's rankings, Vincent-Okoli has been drawing excitement from the fan base for a while now, as evidenced by our own Schuyler Callihan's interview which aired back in November, in which he broke down not only his recruiting process where he held off pressure from in-state Maryland and Kentucky, but also where he expected to play at the next level. It's safe to say that both he and head coach Neal Brown are on the same page, as they both envision a multiple-type role that will see him (likely) play the corner position but also cut his teeth on special teams as a return man. Whether he will impact the game in various ways in the mold of former stars like Adam 'Pacman' jones, KJ Dillon or, of course, Tavon Austin, remains to be seen. But based on his speed and ball skills alone, David Vincent-Okoli looks like a legitimate multi-tool in West Virginia's budding future arsenal.
Biggest Wildcard - Jairo Faverus, DB, Bristol Academy, Bristol, UK
You often hear about recruiting pipelines and how certain programs have staked out sort of-hallowed ground around the country. Florida, Texas, California, Georgia- those are the historic talent factories from which the blue bloods get first pick of the litter. But the United Kingdom? It might not be a "thing" just yet, but it's getting there. That's where newly-minted Mountaineer Jairo Faverus comes into play. A native of the Netherlands, Faverus practically did a tour of North America en route to earning offers from Penn State, Maryland, Minnesota, Yale and very nearly one from Alabama, before siding with the Mountaineers.
The lack of tape makes Faverus at once fascinating and obscure, but his measurements- a built 6'0" and sub-4.5 40 time to go along with some outstanding camp showings - tell you that there's real talent there. He absolutely dominated his high school competition and, while the football he played across the pond is a far cry from what we're used to in the states, he was good enough to get singled out by Nick Saban for a one-on-one meeting during his camp circuit. Saban's eye for talent is beyond reproach at this point, anyway. A good thing that the Europe transplant is already on campus as he'll undoubtedly need some time to acclimate to his new settings, but the excitement from the coaching staff should tell you that this is a name to remember come 2021.
Mr. Big Play - Devell Washington, WR, Arthur Hill HS, Saginaw, MI
You don't win games in the Big 12 without a go-to target. That's the golden rule. While classmate Reese Smith may well be a home run threat in his own right, Washington just looms too large to ignore. At 6'4", 215 pounds, Washington is a towering deep threat that can get vertical and get airborne and, while still a little raw, there's a very obvious blueprint already laid out for what he can develop into.
Despite not posting eye-popping numbers his final two years of high school, Washington did enough work on the field to earn scholarships from blue bloods like Michigan and Ohio State. Washington enters a deep receivers room and will likely have to take an understudy year in 2020 but don't be mistaken: the Saginaw, MI native has the potential to become another big, outside-receiving threat in the mold of Kevin White and will likely become a favorite of future signal-caller Garrett Greene.
Mr. Hit Stick - Akheem Mesidor, DE, Clearwater Academy International, Clearwater, FL
By way of Ontario, Canada, Mesidor earned himself a four star rating by ESPN after hopping the border to play against some elite sunshine state talent. How did he fare? Just watch the tape.
The 6'3" 255 pound Ram truck held a slew of offers across the Power 5 but loved what he saw West Virginia was building on the defensive side of the ball. Equal parts strong and quick off the snap, Mesidor can stay on the edge at end or add additional weight and play at the nose. Wherever he ends up, he already looks ripped straight from the Stills mold and will only get better. Ball-carriers: beware.
Best name - A'Varius Sparrow, RB, Jones High School, Orlando, FL
With 2,135 yards and 26 TD's to his name in his one and only year playing running back in big-time Florida ball, the argument can be made that he actually can fly.
Honestly, though, just look at that name. Nothing else needs to be said.