West Virginia Extends Offer to 115-Tackle JUCO All-American Defensive Back

West Virginia continues to hit up the junior college ranks on the recruiting trail.

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West Virginia is going to need some help in the secondary with so many players graduating and also entering the transfer portal.

The junior college route has already been kind to them, signing a handful of players in the early signing period, including two corners (Rayshawn Reynolds Jr. and Da'Mun Allen) and a safety, Da'Mare Williams.

On Wednesday, the WVU coaching staff extended an offer to JUCO All-American defensive back Ta'Vari Hampton, becoming the third program to reach out, joining Arkansas and Purdue.

This season, the 6-foot, 185-pound safety recorded 115 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, four interceptions, and a pair of forced fumbles, earning him First-Team all-conference honors and being featured on the JUCO All-American second-team.

Nick Taylor, Julien Horton, Da'Mare Williams, Matt Sieg, Rickey Giles, and Jayden Ballard are currently the only safeties on the West Virginia roster, the final three being signees that will join the program soon.

Hampton will have two years of eligibility remaining.

The scout on Hampton

A heat-seeking missile. Plays the game with an extreme level of physicality, playing much bigger than his size would indicate. Has a good feel for when to bail on pass coverage and come downhill to make a play on a receiver underneath or a scrambling quarterback. Loves to come up and be a factor in the run game, shutting things down at or behind the line of scrimmage. Can play the deep safety position, but may also be a good fit at the nickel/sam spot in Zac Alley's defense due to his physicality, speed, and ability to play the run. Hampton is someone who Alley could do a lot of things with and send on blitzes fairly often.

The nickel/sam spot currently is a group filled with inexperience. Chris Fileppo saw limited action this year as a freshman, and the only other two in the room are incoming freshmen Emory Snyder and Miles Khatri. If he picks WVU, I'd expect to see him play there some, even if it's not full-time.

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