Ah, yes. Those were the days. And those were the two who lit the torch West Virginia would bear as a premier outsider operating inside of south Florida. Sure enough, the 2012 recruiting class, inked four weeks after an Orange Bowl win in Miami, included nine players from south Florida. As WVU built the the 2013 recruiting class, which is the one that followed the final college games for Geno Smith and Stedman Bailey, assistants offered a scholarship to 48 players from that part of that state.

But in 2013-15, WVU signed just 10 players from there and actually signed none last year. When the Mountaineers roll out their recruiting class this year, they’ll show two — as far as we know! — and that’s the same number of players from the region who committed and decommitted. Ideally, they’ll do nice things for the Mountaineers, but simply staying put would be good, too. Eleven of the last 19 south Florida signees left the team or never enrolled.

The Mountaineers and south Florida are not a myth, but their success there might be. They’re still there, and their name holds weight, but it’s not what it was, and that’s not a bad thing. Dana Holgorsen and his nine assistants can and do go elsewhere for talent. The scholarships have to come from somewhere, and they’ve come from resources devoted to south Florida.

Running backs coach JaJuan Seider does much of WVU’s work within the region, and the former high school and college star in south Florida has earned and deserves a reputation for what he’s achieved. He successfully recruited McDougle and Sinkfield, but his top recruit this year, according to 247Sports, is Tevin Bush, a running back from New Orleans.

Last year, his main name was Martell Pettaway, a running back from Detroit. He also had a major role in recruiting running backs Kennedy McKoy and Justin Crawford last year. Crawford was a junior college transfer and McKoy came from a high school in North Carolina.

Seider has the freedom to go where he wants to get the players he needs, and he hasn’t been going to south Florida as frequently. According to 247Sports, the top-rated players he targeted this season were in Detroit, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia and south Florida.

That’s all from me today, but by all means, make yourself at home to discuss the names that spin through the fax machine. Follow @CMAnderson247 for news and reviews and check out WVU’s signing day central.