Recruiting Mailbag: Answering National Signing Day Questions

This week's mailbag answers several questions about West Virginia's 2021 signing class.

The December early signing period is now officially behind us and the West Virginia Mountaineers signed 16 recruits in the 2021 class and still have a few spots to fill. Following signing day, WVU fans on Twitter sent in their questions about the class. Check them out below!

Who are the main QB targets for 2021? Are they dual-threat types? - Joe Staffileno

Will "Goose" Crowder will be the only quarterback Neal Brown and his staff bring in for this signing class. They target for one guy each cycle and they feel confident about Crowder and even Greene from last year's class. 

Crowder is certainly a dual-threat quarterback but really improved his passing over the last year and made a full 10-point jump in his completion percentage. 

Who are the top in-state targets for 2021? - Joe Staffileno

Wyatt Milum was the No. 1 guy in this class and the Mountaineers were able to secure him. This is the 2nd straight year that Neal Brown and his staff have reeled in the top player in the state. Aside from Milum, there are not many nationally recruited guys on the board after they decided to back off South Charleston defensive end Zeiqui Lawton.

Any idea if Doug Nester will be pursued by Neal Brown & staff? Given he's Wyatt's HS teammate, I would hope so, he's already "predicted" a WVU transfer of 247, but curious if you have heard anything? - Brian Miller

All signs are pointing toward Nester transferring to West Virginia, but anything can happen. Also heard the possibility of maybe going to Ohio State, where he was committed to before flipping to Virginia Tech on signing day. With that said, I don't think Ohio State would be willing or able to bring him in at this point. They have had a couple of solid recruiting classes and it just makes more sense that he ends up in Morgantown given his connection to Wyatt Milum, Graeson Malashevich, and Owen Chafin. Plus, he'll have a much easier path to playing time at West Virginia. I don't like doing predictions because kids change their minds all the time, but I do like the chances.

With OL and playmakers at WR being a weakness for WVU, how well does this recruiting class address this issue? - Jeremiah Richards

Looking at who West Virginia has signed already, things are trending in the right direction at both spots. Wyatt Milum is a bad dude on the football field and it would not shock me the slightest to see him have a significant role early on in his career. This is someone who had an offer from virtually every big-time school you can think of, yet chose to remain in the state. Tomas Rimac is a very underrated lineman that I have as one of the best-hidden gems in this class. I think he has the ability to be a multi-year starter.

At the receiver position, Kaden Prather has an extremely high ceiling. He makes tough plays look easy and the routine plays look more than routine. He has great size (6'4", 200 lbs) and is only going to get bigger once he gets into Mike Joseph's strength program. He's another one in this class that projects to play very early in his career and could be as early as next fall.

All that said, this staff isn't done quite yet. They'll be on the lookout for some transfers over the next couple of months at both positions.

Hey Schuyler! Out of this class who has the biggest upside as a pass rusher? - Tim Offineer

I don't really see one being head and shoulders above the rest of the group, but if I had to zero in on one guy it would probably be Brayden Dudley. He is a big-time disrupter in the backfield and is creative with his moves, which is a good sign to see from a young pass rusher. If you have a kid that has a tendency to stick with one move, he becomes very reliant on it and is too easy for opposing offensive linemen to pick up on. Hammond Russell will be another guy to watch for as well.

I haven’t seen size come across the board the way these guys did. We got some big dudes. Highly impressed with this year's signings despite COVID-19. Let’s Go Mountaineers! - Adam B. Purdy

Absolutely. Neal Brown talked about how the loss to Iowa State really showed that deficiency. They just got big boy'd in that game and didn't have the depth to match the Cyclones. For West Virginia to legitimately get into the Big 12 conversation, they're going to have to be much bigger and more physical. This class has that.

Under the radar commit that you are most excited about? - Trevor Shore

I love what I see from OL Tomas Rimac as I mentioned above, but I really like defensive back Aubrey Burks. This guy has the ability to line up in a variety of spots and just seems to have a knack for being around the football. He can play downhill against the run, can fly from sideline to sideline in coverage, lay the lumber, this guy can do it all. He's got a lot of upside.

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