How Did West Virginia Do in the Portal in 2024? Evaluating All 13 Transfers

Taking a look back at how the Mountaineers fared in the transfer portal last offseason.

Schuyler Callihan | 17 Hours Ago

West Virginia University defensive lineman TJ Jackson II / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

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West Virginia Mountaineers

Every school in the country, well, at least those similar to West Virginia, must continue to rely on getting high school talent, developing, and retaining said players.

The transfer portal should be used to help fill holes rather than be the entire makeup of your starting unit. That might be the case for Rich Rodriguez in 2025, solely based on the number of starters the Mountaineers are losing to the portal or graduation, but beyond that, the aforementioned approach should be how WVU proceeds.

Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, the portal didn't treat them so kindly in 2024. Here's a look back at all thirteen of the players Neal Brown and his staff plucked out of the portal last year and how they performed this past season.

QB Ryder Burton

Burton spent one year in Morgantown as the third-string quarterback and then hopped back in the transfer portal following the firing of Neal Brown. Even if the previous staff stayed, he wouldn't have been in a position to compete for a starting job until 2027.

WR Jaden Bray

The coaching staff had such high expectations for Bray. He wasn't healthy for much of the season, but even when he was available, the ball rarely found him for whatever reason. Perhaps he'll be more of what we all expected in 2025, assuming he stays.

WR Justin Robinson

Robinson could have had a big year if Neal Brown put him in the game more and had more passes go in his direction. That was one of my biggest gripes with the former head coach this past season. He noted the reason Robinson hadn't been as involved is because he needs to be more consistent off the ball. Not every receiver is the complete package. And not every receiver has the frame and ability to catch contested passes like Robinson. A huge swing and a miss on the staff's part.

OT Xavier Bausley

The jury is still out on Bausley, but if his freshman season at Jax State is any indication of the player he'll be in Morgantown, then he'll be just fine. It's early, but we can probably go ahead and peg him as the starting right tackle in 2025.

DL T.J. Jackson

Without question, Jackson was the best portal pickup for the Mountaineers last offseason. He finished the year with 40 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks. That's about as good as you could ask out of a player with just one year of eligibility.

EDGE Ty French

French was a dominant pass rushing force at the FCS level, and I was convinced he'd have some level of success at West Virginia. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition and instead, became more of a depth piece and special teamer.

LB Reid Carrico

For his first serious action at the college level, Carrico held his own. He has some things to clean up in his game, but a positive first year at WVU, in my opinion. He'll be one of the few returning linebackers on the roster with experience. Again, assuming he stays put.

CB TJ Crandall

Crandall saw extremely limited action and hit the portal at the end of the season. Whether there was a coaching change or not, he was moving on.

CB Dontez Fagan

Fagan played okay for the most part. There were some games where he gave up some big gains, but he also had a handful of games where he was West Virginia's best corner. I know, a low bar, but still.

CB Ayden Garnes

Garnes suffered a season-ending injury in the loss to Iowa State. He had his fair share of bumps in the road in his transition to the FBS level before getting hurt and probably didn't play at the level the staff expected him to play at.

CB Garnett Hollis Jr.

At the time of his commitment, Hollis looked like he would end up being the crown jewel of West Virginia's portal class. The play never met the hype as it became apparent a couple of games in that he wasn't a good fit for the defensive scheme in place.

CB Kekoura Tarnue

Like Justin Robinson, I believe Tarnue wasn't used properly. He played both corner and safety at Jacksonville State, and I always felt he offered more at corner or at least had a higher upside at the position compared to the others in that room. Even with the glaring struggles at corner, Tarnue remained at safety. Why? I don't have the answer.

S Jaheem Joseph

Joseph was an above average contributor on the back end, but his play was very up and down. Obviously, you'd like to have consistency across the board, but you especially need it from your safeties. If not, that's how big plays happen over and over and over again.