West Virginia could have a short, unusual chance to reshape its roster when the fifth-year transfer portal window opens August 3 and runs through August 10.
The trigger came after a judge in Colorado granted a class-wide preliminary injunction to all student-athletes in the 2022 class, giving them a fifth year of eligibility. The ruling is not final, though. The NCAA plans to appeal, and the Tenth Circuit will decide whether Judge Charlotte Sweeney’s decision stands.
That development immediately pushed WVU fans toward a familiar question: could players like nickel/sam Fred Perry and defensive lineman Eddie Kelly Jr. come back for another season? Kelly has told West Virginia On SI that he wants to return to WVU, but the staff still has roster decisions ahead of it.
WVU’s roster situation is tight. By one count, the Mountaineers are sitting at 118 players, though some of those names are players who were grandfathered in when roster limits were introduced.
That allowed WVU and other schools to remain above the 105-player mark for now. Incoming freshman running back SirPaul Cheeks is not included in that count, and he remains the only player not listed on the roster or enrolled.
How many of those 118 are grandfathered in is unclear. If the number is 13, WVU is already full.
If it’s higher, there may be room to add someone. And if the ruling survives the appeals process, the NCAA would presumably need to expand rosters for the 2026-27 school year, though that’s far from a sure thing.
For WVU, this does not look like a window for major shopping. The pool of impact players should be thin, since these are fifth-year players who have graduated and are not with an NFL team. Still, there could be depth to add, and a position here or there that needs help.
A last-minute spending spree is unlikely. The more realistic path is bringing back one of last season’s seniors, assuming that player has kept working out and is in healthy weight for the position.
Cornerback, defensive line and tight end are the spots worth watching.
In Other News...
WVUs Quarterback Future Suddenly Includes A True Freshman To Watch
West Virginias quarterback room already has some moving parts, and the picture only gets more interesting when you add the youngest names in the group. Transfer Mike Hawkins Jr. and sophomore Scotty Fox Jr. sit atop the current discussion, but the staff is also working with three true freshmen in Jyron Hughley, Wyatt Walker Brown and John Johnson III, which gives the position a longer runway than it might have seemed to have a few weeks ago.
Among that trio, Hughley has created the most quiet optimism inside the building because of how he is progressing in the read and RPO game. The staff believes there is a real chance he can spend this season pushing for backup duties, which matters in a room where the depth chart could keep shifting depending on how each quarterback develops and how the transfer market looks down the road. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Enters Fall Camp With Key Offensive Jobs Still Up For Grabs
Fall camp opens Wednesday for West Virginia, and the offense still has a few of the most important jobs to settle before the season starts to feel real. The projected depth chart coming out of spring gives a decent outline of where things stand, but it also shows how much of this group is still being sorted out by performance, experience and how quickly players can make a case in August.
Mike Hawkins is the name to watch at quarterback, while Josh Sapp gives the Mountaineers a familiar piece to build around at tight end. Even so, several spots remain in play across the unit, and the coming practices will go a long way toward showing which spring impressions stick and which ones get reshuffled once the pads come on. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fall Camp Centers On One Position Battle Fans Need To Watch
Fall camp opens Wednesday for West Virginia, and with Rich Rodriguez entering his second year back in charge, there is already a familiar summer storyline hanging over the program: how the staff sorts out the tight end room. Ryan Ward, Josh Sapp and Cam Ball are all in the mix for playing time, and the group has enough intrigue to make it one of the early camp battles worth tracking as the Mountaineers begin the next phase of prep.
There is also some roster uncertainty beyond the position chart itself, with the possibility of a few members of the 2022 class returning to the program still in the conversation. Nothing official has been announced, and this remains more about projection than confirmation, but it adds another layer to a camp that already figures to be watched closely as West Virginia tries to settle key roles early. [Read more 🡒]