Former West Virginia Linebacker Trey Lathan Transfers to Big 12 Rival

Big 12 foe snags the veteran WVU starting linebacker.

West Virginia University linebacker Trey Lathan / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

A new home has been found for now former West Virginia linebacker Trey Lathan. On Tuesday, multiple reports surfaced stating that Lathan has signed with a Big 12 rival, the Kansas Jayhawks. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Lathan emerged out of fall camp in 2023 as the starting WILL linebacker but played a lot of MIKE with Josiah Trotter being out for the season. Unfortunately, he saw his breakout season come to an abrupt end when he suffered a knee injury in the team's road win over TCU. Prior to going down, Lathan was one of West Virginia's most effective pass rushers, racking up seven QB hurries in not even five full games.

He made a full recovery and had an ap-and-down 2024 campaign. In 13 games this season, Lathan recorded 79 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble. He did a good job against the run, but struggled mightily in pass coverage, some of which can be attributed to the coaching staff, namely defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley, putting him in a bad spot by asking him to drop deep into coverage.

With Lathan and Trotter out of the program, the Mountaineers will have some new faces populating the second level of the defense.

Lathan will square off against his former team next season in Lawrence with a date to be determined.

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