Between The Eers: Revisiting WVU's 2023 Portal Class
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Happy New Year, everybody.
00:11 Scott Cownie here on Between the Ears.
00:12 Today, we're gonna talk a little bit
00:14 about the Transfer Portal class of 2023,
00:18 looking back at who contributed,
00:21 who exceeded expectations, who fell short,
00:24 who really didn't contribute all that much.
00:28 And some guys who the jury is still out on
00:30 because they've maybe played here and there a little bit,
00:34 but bigger role for them to come in 2024.
00:38 So first off, I wanna say this.
00:41 For a coaching staff that's had to deal with so much
00:47 attrition, has had to deal with so much
00:50 in terms of the NIL and losing guys to the portal
00:55 and not really having that strong NIL base until this year,
01:00 they did a phenomenal job with the portal last year.
01:04 14 guys they brought in, and I think you could argue
01:07 that 10 of them were hits.
01:09 That's a pretty solid batting average.
01:13 If you're going 10 out of 14 in the portal,
01:16 you'll like your chances.
01:19 And I think that's a part of the reason why
01:21 they won nine games this year.
01:25 I mean, with one of those 10 being a consensus
01:29 All-American and Beanie Bishop.
01:31 So now I don't think that's gonna be the expectation.
01:35 Obviously every year that you're just gonna go
01:37 in the portal and grab some consensus
01:39 All-American every single year,
01:40 but they clearly know how to identify talent.
01:45 And again, the reason why I've been preaching
01:50 to the fan base to relax on some of these offers
01:55 that are going out is because they've been able
01:59 to hit on these guys before,
02:02 and even more so now than ever,
02:05 you really need to trust what they're doing
02:07 because of Drew Fabianich, who's got NFL background
02:10 of scouting players, projecting players,
02:13 what they'll be at a higher level.
02:15 And he looks for the value.
02:19 That's something that not every college football team has
02:22 is a general manager.
02:23 WVU has a guy that's not only a GM,
02:27 but has been in the NFL for several years
02:31 and has done this for a long, long time.
02:34 So when you see offers going out to guys that are,
02:37 D2, FCS, Juco, or just a group of five school,
02:48 don't freak out.
02:49 I promise you there is a reason
02:52 why they're going after these guys.
02:53 They're not going to go after these guys
02:55 that are in a power five, that are transferring,
02:58 that are going to want all this type,
03:01 all this big time money.
03:04 They're going to go after some power five guys every now
03:06 and then, but it's got to be the right guy.
03:07 It's got to be a guy that's not going to demand
03:10 a high dollar amount.
03:11 But when you go back and look at the majority
03:15 of last year's portal class,
03:18 there's some hidden gems here
03:22 that come from the lower ranks.
03:24 And technically I would,
03:26 yes, Beanie Bishop came from Minnesota,
03:29 but he really didn't play that much
03:35 of a factor in their defense
03:37 as he did when he was at Western Kentucky.
03:39 I kind of throw him more into the group
03:41 of five transfer thing,
03:42 even though he did come from Minnesota.
03:44 But I mean, regardless of how you look at it,
03:47 he was a home run.
03:48 Tyron Bradley, obviously FCS level.
03:53 He's someone that I think at 2024
03:56 is going to take a big step forward
03:58 and kind of help those pass rushing numbers a little bit
04:02 now that he's been into the defensive system for a year.
04:06 I don't know that he's going to put up big numbers,
04:09 but I think he can give you Jared Bartlett production.
04:11 And I think that's why West Virginia is okay
04:13 with Bartlett moving on into the portal
04:16 because they feel pretty good about Tyron Bradley.
04:20 He showed up late at the end of the year,
04:22 even made some plays in the bowl game.
04:26 You go to Anthony Wilson,
04:27 second leading tackler on the entire defense,
04:30 came from Georgia Southern, group of five school.
04:33 You go to Michael Hayes, Georgia State kicker,
04:42 was deadly accurate inside 50 yards.
04:44 You have Montre Miller who didn't play
04:51 but the start of the season because of the injury.
04:54 But he's going to be somebody that,
04:57 assuming the NCAA gives him the waiver,
05:00 which I believe things seem like
05:03 that they're heading in that direction.
05:06 He's going to be starting work,
05:07 at least in the mix to start next year at corner.
05:10 He comes from Kent State.
05:12 So again, there's some of these guys on here,
05:16 EJ Horton, wider receiver that came from Marshall,
05:21 had some plays.
05:23 So there's going to be some of these guys
05:25 that come from the group of five levels
05:27 that are going to make that jump
05:29 and be better than what you would think
05:33 coming from that level.
05:34 Now there's also going to be some power five guys,
05:37 but looking back at last year's class,
05:40 the guys that came from the P5 level,
05:42 Timmy Wadderjia, who really didn't play Kentucky,
05:46 got his red shirt in, made a couple of appearances.
05:51 He's somebody that's really going to take
05:53 a big step forward to 24,
05:55 because partially because he has to,
05:58 but we've seen the glimpses and the flashes
06:01 that he can, of his talent.
06:03 And I think when he gets that full off season here
06:07 with that experience under his belt,
06:10 you're going to see a much better polished product
06:14 in Timmy Wadderjia.
06:16 Go down to Fitorma Mulbaugh, same thing.
06:20 You know, a guy that really didn't play much at Penn State,
06:24 didn't have a role,
06:25 really started to come on as the season went on.
06:30 Again, they would love to have Mike Lockhart, 100%,
06:35 but with Mulbaugh showing the progress that he did,
06:40 Hammond Russell, some of those other guys,
06:42 Cory McIntyre, who they're really high on,
06:44 they feel good about that interior spot
06:47 that they weren't going to ever pay Mike Lockhart.
06:49 That was never going to happen.
06:51 Mike Lockhart was getting paid pretty decently
06:54 through his NIL,
06:57 but they weren't going to up that to keep him here.
07:00 They feel really good about those three guys,
07:03 really feel good about Mulbaugh.
07:04 Devon Carter was the leading receiver
07:09 in terms of yardage.
07:11 Only had two touchdowns,
07:12 didn't really catch a whole lot of passes.
07:14 I think he ended up somewhere between
07:15 the neighborhood of 20 and 25,
07:17 so you would have liked that
07:18 a little bit more production out of him,
07:20 but he did what he was supposed to do.
07:24 And I don't think he was ever going to come in here
07:27 and catch 50 passes for 700 yards,
07:31 but he did what they needed him to do.
07:35 Cole Taylor led the team in receptions,
07:37 led the team in touchdown catches as well, I believe,
07:41 with four, if memory serves me correct,
07:45 absolute huge find,
07:48 absolutely huge impact,
07:51 and is going to be someone that will be on
07:54 NFL draft radars next year.
07:57 Could be one of the best tight ends,
07:59 not only the Big 12, but in the country.
08:02 You have that connection with Garrett Green,
08:04 and now you know what that chemistry is like.
08:08 There's going to be more playmakers
08:10 going into the season out on the perimeter
08:12 than you had entering the Penn State game
08:14 last year or this year,
08:16 so I think teams are going to be aware,
08:20 more aware of Cole Taylor,
08:21 but they're also not going to be able
08:22 to just solely focus on him,
08:24 maybe as they did at times this season,
08:26 because now you've gotten some guys
08:27 that are starting to become,
08:29 I wouldn't say proven commodities,
08:31 but they're well-known in Traylon Ray,
08:34 Rodney Gallagher, you're bringing in
08:36 Jaden Bray from Oklahoma State,
08:38 so there's other weapons that you're
08:39 going to have to pay attention to.
08:42 Now, as far as the misses,
08:44 Noah Massey from Angelo State,
08:46 wide receiver from a lower level,
08:50 he was never, the more I think about it,
08:53 I think he was more of a low-risk,
08:56 high-reward type of guy
08:57 that they wanted to bring in to add depth,
09:00 and when I watched his tape,
09:02 and I looked at his size, looked at his frame,
09:04 I'm like, "Man, this kid could be pretty decent.
09:07 He could serve some sort of a role,"
09:11 and I thought he would be somebody
09:12 that could maybe come in and catch 15, 25 passes
09:16 and have some sort of a niche role in this offense,
09:21 but he just never really materialized.
09:25 They kind of went the younger route.
09:27 They wanted to give those opportunities
09:29 to Traylon Ray and Rodney Gallagher,
09:30 Hudson Clement, and those guys,
09:33 they took those opportunities and ran with them,
09:35 so why go away from the young kids
09:38 that are going to be here longer?
09:40 So I understand that one.
09:44 I was pretty damn wrong on that one, but that's okay.
09:49 Day-Day Hawkins, I don't know if I'd really classify him
09:52 as a miss.
09:53 He was a really good locker-room guy,
09:56 played well on special teams,
09:57 did well when he got rotated in on the defensive line.
10:00 I don't want to really classify him as a miss,
10:05 but Keyshawn Cobb, safety from Buffalo,
10:07 he played in a couple of games, got hurt,
10:09 but he was somebody that, from what I've been told,
10:13 was never really going to come back in 2024.
10:16 They felt like they could find an upgrade in the portal,
10:21 and that's not really much of a loss,
10:24 so that was just one they --
10:28 I don't want to say mis-evaluated,
10:30 but mis-evaluated.
10:33 Jayshawn Polk, wide receiver from Kent State,
10:36 had some injuries and whatnot,
10:39 but he was going to be a return specialist,
10:41 just couldn't stay on the field,
10:45 and, again, probably one that they can afford to lose,
10:49 not really a huge loss there.
10:52 So, I mean, and that's really it.
10:53 You know, you talk about the misses,
10:55 and there's really only three in Massey, Polk, and Cobb,
11:03 and, again, I don't really classify Hawkins as a miss.
11:07 EJ Horton, I would say the jury is still out on,
11:10 but if you're talking three out of 14 being misses
11:14 in your portal class, it's pretty damn good.
11:17 So, again, I like where this coaching staff
11:24 is going in the portal this year.
11:26 I think they've made some intriguing additions,
11:30 especially in the secondary with TJ Crandall and Aidan Garnes.
11:36 You know, those two kids are going to come in right away
11:39 and have an opportunity to compete.
11:41 Ty French, a defensive end
11:44 that's going to be arguably their best pass rusher.
11:47 Josh Minkins, a safety.
11:49 Reed Carrico, a linebacker from Ohio State.
11:51 They've got some dudes coming in on defense.
11:54 I don't know if any of them are going to be all-league level.
11:56 I don't know if any of them are going to be consensus
11:59 All-Americans like Beanie Bishop was,
12:01 but I think they're finding the right pieces
12:04 that are going to help this defense improve in 2024
12:08 because I think as a unit overall,
12:13 they fell short of where they should have been.
12:16 I think there are some high points outside of Beanie.
12:21 You had a nine- to ten-man defensive line rotation.
12:25 You saw some flashes out of your young linebackers.
12:28 And Trey Latham and Ben Cutter,
12:30 you're going to get your side trotter to add to that mix.
12:34 But there needs to be better, consistent play across the board.
12:39 That's not just the secondary.
12:40 And I think some of these guys that they're bringing in
12:42 through the portal are going to end up doing that.
12:44 So, looking back on it, I don't --
12:48 I would give West Virginia a B-plus,
12:52 maybe even an A-minus.
12:54 I think I would give an A-minus with their grade
12:57 from the portal class of last year.
12:59 And a lot of that is --
13:00 I mean, if you find a consensus All-American,
13:03 that's got to weigh pretty damn heavy.
13:04 And then you add the fact that you only missed
13:07 on maybe a handful of guys, less than a handful of guys,
13:11 that's a strong class.
13:13 So, A-minus for me on the 23 class for West Virginia.
13:17 We'll see how they round things out, the 24 class.
13:20 Stay tuned. I'm going to update the transfer portal tracker
13:26 that we've got going on for the targets,
13:28 guys that are committed to West Virginia,
13:30 guys that have entered the portal from West Virginia.
13:31 We're going to get that updated this week.
13:33 Been busy with the holidays.
13:35 So, we're going to get that updated.
13:37 Make sure you check that out on our site at Mountain Ears now.
13:39 And we'll be back tomorrow.
13:41 Not sure what we'll talk about, but we'll be back tomorrow
13:43 with a new episode of "Between the Ears."
13:45 I'm Skylar Cowan. Make sure you hit that subscribe button
13:47 on YouTube at Mountain Ears now,
13:49 and give us a follow on X at the same name.
13:51 We'll see you guys tomorrow. Take care.
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