WVU Among 30+ Schools to Express Interest in Division II Defensive Back Standout

West Virginia has a bunch of bodies to replace in the secondary this offseason, with so many players having graduated. They've also lost a handful of players to the transfer portal, most of whom were a mutual parting of ways.

They will count on some internal development from those who do return, but you can expect a rather heavy emphasis on that area of the defense in the portal, especially when it opens for Division I players next month.

In the meantime, WVU and other programs around the country are taking a good, long, hard look at those who are in the portal from the lower levels. Division II and III players can enter the portal at any time, and the Mountaineer coaching staff has already been in contact with a handful of players, including Slippery Rock defensive back Kanye Thompson.

According to Hayes Fawcett of Rivals, Thompson has been a hot name in the portal, receiving interest from the likes of Akron, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Ball State, Boise State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Marshall, Memphis, Minnesota, Missouri State, Nebraska, Ohio, Penn State, Pitt, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Texas Tech, USF, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Youngstown State.

In ten games this season, Thompson was responsible for 60 tackles, 10 passes defended, 5.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, and three sacks. He does have some experience returning punts and kicks, although his primary usage has been on defense. He's returned four kicks for 72 yards (long of 30) and 14 punts for 149 yards, 12 of which happened a year ago.

Thompson becomes the second known Division II player to have had talks with West Virginia, joining West Florida quarterback Marcus Stokes.

Be sure to hop over to our WVU Football Transfer Tracker to receive all of the latest updates. There, we have a full position-by-position breakdown of which players are leaving the program, who have committed, and who the Mountaineers have offered and are pursuing.

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