West Virginia’s 2026 schedule is going to put five familiar faces back in front of the Mountaineers, including three in Big 12 play. That’s an unusual amount of overlap for a program that usually sees former players wind up elsewhere and stay out of the way.
Two of those names are Onwuka and Henry, who left Morgantown after just one season and transferred to Coastal Carolina. Their college paths have already taken plenty of turns.
At WVU, they saw Neal Brown get fired, went through the transfer process themselves, adjusted to a new system, and then watched Coastal’s Tim Beck get canned as well. That means Ryan Beard will be the third head coach they’ve played for in three years.
Onwuka has not yet played in a game. Henry appeared in 11 games in 2025 and finished with ten tackles.
Another former Mountaineer now waiting on the schedule is the Maryland native who played in just one game at WVU before redshirting. He left for Bowling Green last offseason and put together a productive year there, posting 37 tackles, three passes defended, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a fumble recovery. West Virginia will see him in early October when Bowling Green comes to town.
Then there’s Gallagher, one of the more recognizable departures from recent years. He was a heavily recruited high school prospect, and expectations around him were high from the start. The source material points to a couple of rough breaks: the previous coaching staff did not put him in the best position or develop him properly as a receiver, and last year’s offense was such a mess that he never really had a chance to become a major producer.
Lathan, who left two years ago alongside Josiah Trotter, is the other big name on the list. He arrived at Kansas with plenty of talent and backed that up with a strong first season.
Lathan set a career high with 86 tackles and added seven tackles for loss, five passes defended, two fumble recoveries, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. He was also strong in pass coverage, an area that had given him trouble at West Virginia.
In Other News...
Mike Hawkins Jr. Just Put Two WVU Defenders On Notice
Quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. already has a feel for which West Virginia defensive backs could shape the coming season, and two names he singled out stand out for different reasons. Chams Diagne brings the kind of length and coverage ability that can change how an offense attacks, while Geimere Latimer has the reputation of a disciplined piece who should be steady in the back end.
For WVU, the intrigue is in how much more each player can add beyond the basics. Diagne still has to prove he can finish plays better in space and hold up against the run, while Latimer is being counted on to bring more pressure and handle a bigger share of the dirty work near the line. With the defense still sorting out its identity for 2026, those two may end up mattering as much for what they can prevent as for what they can create. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Finally Landed The In-State Addition Fans Have Been Waiting For
West Virginia has added a familiar name with real upside in Alexis Bordas, the Wheeling native who is coming home after one season at Duquesne. Bordas made an immediate impact as a freshman, averaging 15.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while earning a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie Team, giving the Mountaineers a local player who already arrives with proven production.
For a fan base that has been waiting to see a West Virginia-born player in the womens basketball program again, Bordas checks a box that goes beyond the numbers. She brings four years of eligibility under the new rules, which gives WVU a chance to build around her for more than just the short term, and it adds another layer of intrigue to how the roster will take shape moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Still Has One Running Back Problem It Did Not Fix
West Virginia spent the summer trying to stir some movement in its running back recruiting board, hosting several official visitors and hoping to chip away at a depth chart that needed attention. The visits brought plenty of activity, but the end result was more mixed than transformational, with the Mountaineers cycling through the usual recruiting churn without truly changing the shape of the room.
One prospect ended up at Houston, another came to West Virginia but fit more as a receiver than a true back, and a third briefly pledged to the Mountaineers before moving on to Auburn. Tylek Lewis is still out there as an uncommitted option, but for now the bigger takeaway is simple enough for West Virginia: after all those visits, the running back situation looks the same as it did before the June official period began. [Read more 🡒]