West Virginia Loses Top RB Recruit, Bringing 2027 Class Back to Zero

The Mountaineers' 2027 recruiting class is now empty.

Armand Hill

For the second time in this 2027 recruiting cycle, the West Virginia Mountaineers have lost a commitment. On Thursday, four-star running back Armand Hill (5'10", 185 lbs) of West Mifflin, PA, decommitted from the program, bringing the class back down to zero pledges for the time being.

Back in mid-November, the Mountaineers lost another Pittsburgh-area native from the '27 class, linebacker Minikon Johnson of Bishop Canevin High School.

Hill, however, is an explosive running back who has posted some big-time numbers through the first three seasons of his prep career. As a freshman, he rushed for 1,526 yards and 20 touchdowns, then went for 1,693 yards and 23 touchdowns as a sophomore, and 1,540 yards and 19 touchdowns this past season as a junior.

Hill initially picked West Virginia over offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Maryland, Michigan, Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse, Toledo, and UNLV.

Why the decommitment?

I reached out to Hill for comment and have not received a response at the time of this story's initial publication. If and when he responds, I will update this.

My guess is that with a lot of these guys who commit extremely early, they get bombarded with schools coming after them, some who are just now getting their foot in the door, and they tend to believe they may have shut things down too early. Considering the type of player Hill is, I do not believe this was a situation where WVU told him to look elsewhere whatsoever.

I imagine the West Virginia coaching staff will remain in contact with him, just as they have with the other aforementioned decommitment, Minikon Johnson.

If I were to speculate just for a second, it's entirely possible that he saw West Virginia bring in four true freshman backs in the 2026 class, one of which has a super high ceiling in Amari Latimer. Other big-time programs may not have a clear answer at the position or perhaps lack depth and could offer more playing time. Again, that's all speculation, though.

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