West Virginia

West Virginia enters difficult stretch for evaluation, decisions

Published

9 months ago

March 15, 2025

West Virginia enters difficult stretch for evaluation, decisions

West Virginia will have six remaining practices after the break including the Gold-Blue Showcase with a magnifying glass during that time on evaluation of the current roster.

That is always a critical component, especially in the midst of a coaching change, but considering there are so many new players in the program on top of the upcoming changes to the allowable size of the roster it’s perhaps even more important than usual.

The House Settlement is expected to lower the roster size to 105 players in total which means that the coaching staff is going to have to make some difficult decisions on a number of players.

“I already talked to our coaches and some of our personnel folks that we’ve got to really get a good plan for that because I know it’s a long time until the first week, but that 105, we’ve got to have the best 105 that we could possibly have here,” head coach Rich Rodriguez said.

That means whittling down the roster totals to 105 by the time that fall camp rolls around and it means looking at the roster in totality now in order to see where the program needs the most help.

The end of spring practice was deliberately set April 5 as opposed to the original date a week later in order to allow the coaching staff a week to meet with players before the second portal window is set to open April 16.

That gives players an opportunity to get into the transfer portal yet again, while mapping out the positions that the Mountaineers still need to create the most competitive roster possible.

“We got to be honest with all of them. And I can’t keep all of them even if I wanted to because of the roster size. That’s going to be the hardest part,” Rodriguez said.

That’s especially difficult because there are going to be several players that are right on the edge and could potentially help West Virginia, but there might be other spots with greater needs.

“So, this spring is going to be really hard to do that because there’s going to be some guys that we don’t want to let go that probably are going to have to get let go,” Rodriguez said.

Those decisions will be critical because the Mountaineers won’t have the ability to mine a free agent pool or sign somebody up from the practice squad if there are any injuries once fall camp begins. That means once those choices are made, the coaching staff has to hope that the roster remains healthy.

So, while the spring has certainly helped the coaches accomplish some of that, there is still work to do.

“We’ve got to look at the roster in totality now and like what we got to do in the portal coming up and what moves we’ve got to make to get it to the best 105,” Rodriguez said.

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West Virginia

West Virginia First Foundation lauds Wheeling police for crisis intervention success

Published

12 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

West Virginia First Foundation lauds Wheeling police for crisis intervention success

WHEELING, W.Va. — The West Virginia First Foundation visited the Wheeling Police Department to commend its efforts in addressing the area’s mental health and opioid crisis.

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger presented to the WVFF board, highlighting the department’s progress.

Schwertfeger attributed a 14% decrease in Group A crimes from 2024 to 2025 to the department’s crisis intervention program.

“Just another great partnership,” he said. “More collaboration in this area that we are very proud of and we want to keep the momentum going,.”

WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board praised the program’s success.

“This in particular, the CIT program, that isn’t just in the ether, but is showing success – actual scientific success about de-escalation, about bringing together services providers and to boots on the ground and first responders, this is vitally important to not only this region but the entire state,” Board said.

The visit was part of WVFF’s ‘Hold the Line’ tour across the state.

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West Virginia

Where West Virginia’s Decommits in the 2026 Recruiting Class Signed & What Happened

Published

24 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Where West Virginia’s Decommits in the 2026 Recruiting Class Signed & What Happened

Now that you know about West Virginia’s 2026 recruiting class, I figured it’d be a good time to give a little insight into those who were once committed to the Mountaineers and landed elsewhere.

What happened, and where did they go?

QB Brodie McWhorter (Mississippi State)

McWhorter committed to Neal Brown and his coaching staff, but reopened his recruitment when the coaching change was made. Rich Rodriguez did recruit him at the beginning, holding several conversations with him before backing off and pursuing Jyron Hughley and Legend Bey. Hughley committed, Bey committed to Ohio State (signed with Tennessee), while WVU added two more quarterbacks in Wyatt Brown and John Johnson III.

RB Jett Walker (Texas)

Walker fit the bill for what Rodriguez wanted in the backfield. A big, physical presence who could absorb contact and hammer it in between the tackles. With multiple backs committed and feeling good about a few others, WVU didn’t feel pressed to hold onto him. Walker flipped to Minnesota and then flipped to Texas just three weeks later

WR Jeffar Jean-Noel (Georgia Tech)

Jean-Noel was the second recruit to commit to Rodriguez in the 2026 class, but reopened his recruitment in mid-April. He then considered Purdue, Pitt, Kentucky, UCF, and Florida State before landing at Georgia Tech.

OL Justyn Lyles (Marshall)

The Mountaineers had a number of offensive line commits, and with the late additions of Kevin Brown and Aidan Woods, and their chances of securing Jonas Muya, Lyles took a visit to Marshall and flipped his commitment.

LB Caleb Gordon (North Carolina)

Gordon’s commitment to WVU was very brief. As a matter of fact, it was the shortest of the bunch, announcing his pledge on November 24th and then flipping to NC State on the first day of the early signing period (December 3rd).

LB Daiveon Taylor (Kent State)

Taylor was the first commit in the class; however, it was so early that he was committed to Neal Brown’s staff, announcing his decision in April of 2024. He backed off that pledge the very day Brown was fired (December 1st) and eventually signed with Kent State.

CB Emari Peterson (unsigned)

Peterson decommitted from WVU just days before signing day, likely due to the Mountaineers zeroing in on a pair of JUCO corners in Rayshawn Reynolds and Da’Mun Allen. He will sign in February and currently has offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Liberty, LSU, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Toledo, Wake Forest, and a few others.

S Aaron Edwards (committed to Tulsa)

West Virginia chose to part ways with Edwards and ultimately replaced his spot with fellow JUCO safety Da’Mare Williams.

S Jaylon Jones (undecided)

Jones decommitted in late October and did not sign during the early signing period. He will likely choose between Central Michigan, Hawai’i, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas State.

S Taj Powell (Louisville)

Taj is the brother of former Mountaineer basketball guard Jonathan Powell, who is now at North Carolina. He decommitted the day after West Virginia lost to Ohio and flipped to Louisville that same day.

West Virginia

West Virginia National Guard member killed in DC laid to rest

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

West Virginia National Guard member killed in DC laid to rest

A West Virginia National Guard member who was fatally shot last month in the nation’s capital was laid to rest with full military honors in a private ceremony.

Spc. Sarah Beckstrom’s funeral took place Tuesday at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a statement.

“The ceremony was deeply moving and reflected the strength, grace, and love of a remarkable young woman and the family and friends who surrounded her,” Morrisey said.

Beckstrom graduated with honors from Webster County High School in 2023 and joined the National Guard several weeks later. She served in the 863rd Military Police Company.

Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe were ambushed as they patrolled a subway station three blocks from the White House on Nov. 26. She died the next day.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who was also shot during the confrontation, has been charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty.

Morrisey has said Wolfe, who remains in a hospital in Washington, is slowly healing and his family expects he will be in acute care for another few weeks.

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