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Football finishes No. 18, adds 10 players

January 10, 2017 by Mike Casazza

 

The final coaches poll came out early this morning, and Dana Holgorsen, who checked in at No. 18, has his second top-25 finish. Bobby Bowden had one! The Mountaineers finished the 2011 season No. 17 in the media poll and No. 18 in the coaches’ poll. They beat somebody in the Orange Bowl. Can’t remember who, though.

Monday wasn’t just the end of the college football season, though. It was the start of the spring semester and the start of the FBS experience for 10 players.

WVU previously welcomed seven junior college transfers: offensive lineman Kelby Wickline, receivers David Sills V and Dominique Maiden, defensive linemen Jalen Harvey, Quondarius Qualls and Ezekiel Rose and cornerback Hakeem Bailey.

All seven have a chance to play right away — that’s why they enrolled in January — and a few don’t have redshirts to take. Sills, Harvey, Rose and Bailey are going to play. They’ve already been mentioned and basically accounted for for spring football.

The Mountaineers also opened their arms to three high school players who chose to enroll early.

Tevin Bush, RB, 5-8, 170, New Orleans, La./Landry-Walker HS
Played for Coach Emanuel Powell at Landry-Walker High
Earned 5A All-State Honorable-Mention honors as a senior by the Louisiana Sportswriters Association
Finished with more than 2,500 all-purpose yards and 29 touchdowns
Helped lead Landry-Walker to a 13-2 record and the 5A state championship
Registered 134 rushing yards and a touchdown and added 82 receiving yards and a touchdown against Destrehan in the state semifinals
Named first-team all-district and all-metro
Collected more than 1,500 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior
Three-star rating by ESPN, Rivals, Scout and 247Sports
Ranked No. 10 all-purpose back nationally and No. 27 recruit in Louisiana by Rivals
No. 10 all-purpose back nationally and No. 31 recruit in Louisiana by 247Sports
No. 9 wide receiver in Louisiana by Scout
No. 67 athlete nationally and No. 35 overall in Louisiana by ESPN
Also offered by Arkansas, Cincinnati, Kansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisville, Texas Tech and Tulane

Derrek Pitts, S, 6-2, 179, Dunbar, W.Va./South Charleston HS
Played for Coach Donnie Mays at South Charleston High
Won the Carl Lee Award, signifying the top defensive back in West Virginia
Earned All-West Virginia All-State First Team honors
Named Charleston Gazette-Mail Kanawha Valley Player of the Year
Had 348 career tackles, including 13 sacks and 35 tackles for loss
In 2016, he finished with 90 tackles, including 56 solo stops and nine tackles for loss
Finished with three fumble recoveries and two interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns
Had five solo tackles, two assisted tackles, season-high four tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and had two pass breakups against Huntington in the first round of the state playoffs
Compiled 1,169 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns (four on receptions, two each of kickoffs and fumble returns and one each on a punt return and a rushing touchdown)
Caught 27 passes for 468 yards and four touchdowns and ran 45 times for 277 yards and a touchdown
Averaged 45.5 yards on kickoff returns and 21.3 on punt returns
No. 23 safety nationally and No. 1 player overall in West Virginia by Rivals
No. 34 safety nationally, No. 5 player overall in the East and No. 1 player in West Virginia by Scout
No. 30 safety nationally and No. 2 player overall in West Virginia by 247Sports
Four-star rating by Rivals and three-star rating by ESPN, 247Sports and Scout
Also offered by Arizona, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Louisville, Maryland, Nebraska, NC State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pitt, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.

Maverick Wolfley, FB, 6-3, 235, Morgantown, W.Va./Morgantown HS
Played for coach Matt Lacy at Morgantown High
Played in nine of 13 games as a senior, sitting out four games with Injuries
Earned 3A All-State Special Honorable-Mention as a senior
Named All-State Second-Team as a sophomore and junior
Three-time Three-Rivers Athletic Conference and three-time Ohio Valley Athletic Conference
Two-time all-area selection
As a senior, helped lead Morgantown to a 10-3 record, the state semifinals and the No. 4 ranking in West Virginia
Finished with 332 career tackles, including 75 tackles as a senior, including three sacks and seven tackles for loss and a forced fumble
Also had 65 carries for 521 yards and eight touchdowns and four receptions for 93 yards
Had 66 tackles as a junior, including a sack and 12 tackles for loss
No. 5 overall recruit in the state of West Virginia by Rivals
No. 30 inside linebacker nationally and No. 5 in West Virginia by 247Sports
No. 25 inside linebacker nationally and No. 1 in West Virginia by Scout
Three-star rating by Rivals, Scout, 247Sports and two-star by ESPN
Brother, Stone, is a current member of the Mountaineer football team
Father, Dale, was a standout performer on the offensive line for WVU on the 1988 team that played for the national championship
Uncle, Ron was also a former Mountaineer standout at fullback and for almost 10 years in the NFL, including four years as an NFL Pro Bowl selection
Uncle, Craig played at Syracuse and in the NFL for more than 10 years, including 10 years with the Steelers
Grandfather, Ray Mansfield, started at the University of Washington and played 14 years in the NFL, including 13 with the Pittsburgh Steelers

That’s how they look on paper. On the field? Have a look!