WVU is Targeting One of the Highest-Graded Cover Safeties in All of College Football

There's no way around it. West Virginia's secondary had some deficiencies this past season, which led to some big games from opposing quarterbacks once the Mountaineers reached Big 12 Conference play. Some of it can be attributed to a lack of size/length, while some of it stemmed from certain players just flat out underperforming.

To help solve some of those issues, the WVU coaching staff is in pursuit of Elon safety transfer Jesse Powell II. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he checks the size/length box and then some. For the production piece, well, he checks that box too, grading out as the 24th-best safety in all levels of college football, with a Pro Football Focus grade of 86.3. In terms of pass coverage, he landed a 90.8 grade, which was fifth among all FBS/FCS safeties who played legitimate snaps.

The Cary, North Carolina native ended the season with 59 tackles, four tackles for loss, and four pass breakups. Over the past two years, the Phoenix have played just two games against Power Four opponents, both against Duke. In those matchups, Powell impressed, combining for seven tackles, one pressure, and one QB hurry.

The Mountaineers do have a couple of intriguing pieces in place with incoming freshman Matt Sieg and JUCO product Da'Mare Williams, but adding one of the best cover safeties in football is something WVU can't pass up on. The depth of the back end needs to be replenished with Derek Carter, Kekoura Tarnue, and Darrian Lewis all graduating, and Israel Boyce transferring to South Florida.

If he does choose WVU, he will certainly be in the rotation at safety and likely in line to start at one of the two spots.

He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

To keep track of all the movement, be sure to visit the West Virginia Football Transfer Tracker. There, we will have a full list of players who are leaving WVU for the portal, which players have been offered by WVU, who have scheduled a visit, and a mini breakdown for those who end up choosing the Mountaineers.

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