West Virginia

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

Published

50 minutes ago

December 11, 2025

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

13 hours 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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West Virginia

“Naturally, West Virginia” program launched

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2025

Press Room

“Naturally, West Virginia” program launched

MORGANTOWN, WV (WVNS) — The West Virginia Agritourism Initiative and West Virginia University Extension Agency are coming together to create “Naturally, West Virginia.”

Naturally West Virginia is an Agritourism Promotion and Support Program designed to help West Virginia’s agritourism business grow and improve.

Dr. Dee Singh-Knights, Professor of Agribusiness Economics and Management, says businesses under this brand demonstrate a commitment to providing a high quality visitor experience and implement the best in agritourism practices.

To be eligible for the program, a business owner must have 10 hours of Agritourism Education and Professional Development Training, be reviewed by the Naturally West Virginia team to explore current practices, areas for improvement, and technical assistance, a West Virginia Agritourism Association Membership, and a completed verification form filed with WVU Extension.

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West Virginia

Why Losing Jahiem White Stings But Will Not Derail West Virginia’s 2026 Plans

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

Press Room

Why Losing Jahiem White Stings But Will Not Derail West Virginia’s 2026 Plans

During his two years and change in Morgantown, running back Jahiem White was one of the most, if not the most, dynamic players on the West Virginia football roster. Every time he touched the ball, you had the feeling that something special could happen, and oftentimes it did.

After not seeing the field through the first half of his true freshman campaign, he burst onto the scene in a road game against UCF, and from that point on, he became the electrifying back we all know him as. Injuries are a part of the game, but White is coming off a season-ending knee injury, marking the second straight offseason he’ll spend a good chunk of his time recovering. Last year, he suffered a lower-body injury in the Frisco Bowl against Memphis.

On Monday, news dropped that White plans to enter the transfer portal in January, which caught a lot of Mountaineer fans off guard because of the responses he had to fans earlier in the week on Instagram asking if he would be returning.

WVU has been holding exit interviews with players, discussing the report on them for the 2025 season, their future, and if they have a spot on next year’s roster. Pretty much every one of those talks will feature some time spent on money. Those figures are not generally made available to the media or public, but it’s within reason to assume West Virginia was a little weary of offering a decent-sized package to White, considering the injuries he’s had the past two years.

So, what now for West Virginia?

When a player of Jahiem’s caliber would depart in the past, everyone would panic and assume trouble lies ahead. Don’t get me wrong, losing White stings for WVU, but probably not as much as it would have in the past.

Rich Rodriguez signed five running backs during the early signing period, two of whom are going to have a chance to be significant contributors from day one in JUCO star Martavious Boswell and four-star recruit Amari Latimer, who flipped from Wisconsin. Those two, plus another incoming freshman, Christopher Talley, will be enrolling early. Big, physical back Lawrence Autry and the speedy SirPaul Cheeks will arrive in the summer

Goin’ shoppin’

Yes, WVU has to beefen up in the trenches and address other areas of the roster, but don’t think for a second that Rodriguez will ignore the running back position. After seeing the position decimated by injury in 2025, he’s going to do everything in his power to make sure that doesn’t happen again. West Virginia will add another running back to the mix once the portal opens next month, and likely one that has played meaningful football.