How Daryl Porter Jr. Will Factor into the Defense at West Virginia
Just moments ago, the Mountaineers added to its 2020 recruiting class with the commitment of cornerback Daryl Porter Jr. of American Heritage high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He chose West Virginia over Utah, Washington State and Ole Miss.
So, how big of an addition is this for West Virginia?
Huge.
Just from a depth perspective, it helps tremendously as seniors Keith Washington and Hakeem Bailey have exhausted their eligibility, leaving only five returning scholarship corners for next season.
Who's returning?
Dreshun Miller (JR) - A former LSU commit flipped his decision to West Virginia prior to last years signing day, but never saw the field due to a lingering injury. He is expected to be a full go by spring ball.
Nicktroy Fortune (FR) - Fortune saw some valuable time throughout the season and saw his role expand towards the back end of the schedule. He finished the year with 16 tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups.
Tae Mayo (FR) - Mayo played in only one game and registered two tackles. He has a high ceiling, but has a little further to go than some of the others that are returning.
Tacorey Turner (FR) - Turner was one of very few Neal Brown signees from 2019 and did not see any game action this fall and utilized his redshirt.
Alonzo Addae (JR) - A former two-year starter at New Hampshire, Addae transferred to the program in June and was forced to sit out the 2019 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He attended The Peddie School, which is the same high school that current offensive line commit Chris Mayo hails from. Alonzo is also the cousin to cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae.
Who's coming?
Jackie Matthews (Mississippi Gulf Coast JC) - Matthews brings experience and a winning attitude. He was just recently named to the NJCAA All-American First Team and had the game sealing interception in the junior college national championship game.
Jairo Faverus (Bristol, UK) - Neal Brown plucked this kid from across the pond and has a ton of athleticism. He is a raw talent and may take some time to get caught up to speed.
David Vincent-Okoli (Gaithersburg, MD) - This is the wild card right here. Okoli told Mountaineer Maven that he is 100% committed to the Mountaineers, but does not know which side of the ball he will play on when he arrives to Morgantown. There is still a chance that he lines up at wide receiver. As of the moment, he is listed as an athlete.
How Porter fits in
Without going through spring ball, my assumption would be that Nicktroy Fortune and Jackie Matthews will work with the first team and Dreshun Miller/Alonzo Addae will work with the two's. Tacorey Turner and Tae Mayo will likely play a lot of special teams to get them acclimated to the game and Jairo Faverus will likely redshirt. With Okoli being a wildcard, I would imagine that this opens the door for Porter Jr. being a guy that can compete for one of those first four spots and if he isn't quite ready, play him four games and utilize his redshirt.
There's certainly a chance that he could crack the two deep with his talent and the inexperience that is on the roster.