2023 LB James Heard Commits to West Virginia

The Mountaineers add to the 2023 class.

Are you looking for the inside scoop on West Virginia football recruiting? Then, subscribe to Mountaineer Maven, with in-depth and exclusive information brought to you by Schuyler Callihan, a name you can trust and his staff. Subscribe today and get the first month of an annual membership for just $1, or a full annual membership at an almost 20% discount!

Class of 2023 linebacker James Heard Jr. (6'2", 218 lbs) of St. Joseph's Prep School in Philadelphia PA announced moments ago that he has committed to West Virginia. We placed a prediction for Heard to WVU back on April 27th, which now makes us 26/27 all-time on commitment predictions.

BEYOND BLESSED #TakeMeHome23 #HailWv pic.twitter.com/2WnPBh37lP

— JH (@JamesHeardjr) June 3, 2022

Heard chose the Mountaineers over Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee and also held other offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Maryland, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, Temple, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech.

Although he plays the linebacker position, Heard is a specialist in racking up tackles behind the line of scrimmage and consistently gets to the quarterback. In his first three years of high school ball, Heard has racked up 112 tackles, 45 tackles for loss, and 22.5 sacks.

Heard is the perfect fit at WVU's bandit position which is a similar role he's currently in at St. Joseph's. He has a deadly spin move in his arsenal, but can also win purely off of strength. Most high school edge rushers have to truly learn how to drop back in pass coverage but Heard already does that quite a bit which should make for a very smooth transition to the next level.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us Twitter:

Facebook - @WVUonSI

Twitter - @SI_WVU and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.