Neal Brown Continues International Flavor With Latest Commitment

The Mountaineers continue overseas recruiting success

Monday morning, West Virginia added its 12th member to the 2021 recruiting class and its second international commitment. Defensive end Edward Vesterinen of Finland made his pledge to the Mountaineers, totaling four players from outside of the U.S. to have committed to the program since Neal Brown took over as the head coach.

Being at a place like West Virginia, you have to get creative on the recruiting trail. You aren't going to stumble upon four and five star talents in bunches, so being creative is crucial. This is why the Mountaineers put an emphasis on recruiting the junior college ranks, utilizing the transfer portal, and now, investing time into scouting players all across the globe.

Shortly after Vesterinen's commitment, Mountaineer Maven spoke with the founder of PPI Recruiting, Brandon Collier, to get his thoughts on not only Vesterinen, but how the Mountaineers have become successful recruiting overseas.

"I honestly believe it's a huge commitment as this kid [Vesterinen] is a kid that has the ability to compete very early in his career. He has been coached up and not raw as most high schoolers are. He is fast and very twitchy.

"I believe Coach Brown has it figured out," Collier said. "He knows he’s not at Clemson or Ohio State where he can just land anyone he wants. He has to be more unique in recruiting. I feel the kids that he has landed so far, if they played high school in the USA, they would be all national recruits. WVU would have to fight teams like Clemson and Penn State for them. I believe WVU will come back each year because they are invested now. These three will all play early and make a difference in Morgantown."

Fellow 2021 commit Victor Wikstrom (tight end/Sweden) also came through the PPI pipeline along with freshman corner Jairo Faverus (United Kingdom) who was a 2020 signee. Collier had some great words to say about the both of them as well.

"Jairo is another kid I love. I love his character and he is a big corner that’s polished and plays aggressive. I believe he plays year one," he stated. As for Wikstrom, Collier said "He runs 4.50 at 245 lbs. That in it self is enough, but he is a kid that is crazy explosive!"

The thought of West Virginia creating a recruiting pipeline overseas in football is probably something you never imagined would happen. But it's not all that surprising when you look at Neal Brown's relationship with Collier, which goes back quite a while.

"Our relationship is awesome. We share a common UMass grad bond, so that’s how we know each other. But most importantly he trusts that I wouldn’t ever recommend a kid that wouldn’t make an impact for him. And I trust he will do right for my kids, so it’s been a great relationship."

Do you like the idea of West Virginia recruiting players from overseas? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

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