West Virginia’s secondary picked up a notable boost Wednesday afternoon when a judge in Indiana granted a preliminary injunction to several football players, including defensive back JaCorey Thomas. The ruling makes Thomas eligible for the 2026 season, which will be his fifth and final year in college.
Thomas’ path to Morgantown became public a couple of days after WVU opened the season with a win over Coastal Carolina. He arrived with a clean, straightforward profile as a four-seasons-in-four-years player, which made his case relatively simple.
To get a better sense of what the Mountaineers are getting, Christian Kirby II of The Film Guy Network, who covered Thomas in Athens over the last three years, described him as a dependable piece on the back end.
"I think he’s a really solid and reliable safety that typically is asked to cover middle thirds and deep halves in the secondary. He can sometimes get caught with bad eyes and doesn’t have the most elite of ball skills.
But he is a really reliable tackler and a good culture add to any team. Run support I would say he’s decent/playable.
I’m pretty sure they cross-trained him at the nickel position, but we did not see him get much burn there while he was at Georgia. Overall, he’s a really solid safety that probably won’t make any crazy flash plays but also won’t be a constant liability."
That lines up with how Georgia used him. Last season, most of Thomas’ defensive snaps came at free safety, with 62% of them there. He also logged a small amount of work in the slot, though Georgia’s usage of that role was different from how Zac Alley deploys it.
For WVU, the nickel spot may not be the main path for Thomas, especially with Geimere Latimer playing well there. Still, he could be an emergency option at that spot or give Latimer a breather from time to time.
Free safety looks like the cleanest fit. It matches the position he’s already played and could let true freshman Matt Sieg develop without being pushed into a major defensive role too quickly.
Sieg should still factor in, but Thomas gives West Virginia another experienced body on the back end. There’s also a chance he can slide in behind Kamari Wilson and handle some work in the box.
Thomas was not yet listed on the team’s official website as of Wednesday afternoon, though that should change soon. It remains unclear whether he’ll be available for this weekend’s game against Oklahoma State.
In Other News...
WVUs First Big 12 Depth Chart Raises A Real QB Question
West Virginias first Big 12 depth chart of the season offered the usual mix of familiar names and emerging roles, but the quarterback line was the one that stood out. Michael Hawkins Jr. and Scotty Fox Jr. were listed as co-starters for the upcoming game against Oklahoma State, a notable wrinkle as the Mountaineers settle in for conference play and sort out where things stand under center.
The rest of the chart filled in some of the bigger-picture roster picture, with key spots at running back, in the secondary and at linebacker mapped out for the opener. It also reflected recent momentum for players such as David Afogho and Isaiah Patterson, who have earned more prominent mentions after their latest work, but the quarterback setup leaves the most important question hanging as West Virginia heads into a game that should say plenty about its direction. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Finally Gets A Home Test That Could Reveal Everything
West Virginias first real chance to learn what kind of team it has comes in its fourth game of the season, when Oklahoma State comes to Morgantown. The Cowboys arrive with a 2-1 record under first-year coach Eric Morris, and they bring enough firepower to make this a meaningful test rather than just another early-season checkpoint.
Drew Mestemaker has helped power an offense that ranks sixth nationally, while Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young give Oklahoma State more than one way to stress a defense. The Cowboys also make life difficult on the other side of the ball, sitting near the top of the country in third-down stops, which means West Virginia will have to earn everything in a game that could say a lot about where the Mountaineers really stand. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Has A Real Chance To Seize Early Momentum Vs Oklahoma State
West Virginia gets a chance to turn a promising start into something more substantial when it hosts Oklahoma State at Mountaineer Field, with kickoff set for a FS1 telecast. The Mountaineers are looking to open 4-0 for the first time since 2018, a marker that would give this early stretch some real staying power and add a little more weight to what has already been a strong opening.
The matchup also comes with a modest but meaningful edge in the projections, as ESPNs Football Power Index gives West Virginia a 59.7% chance to win. Oklahoma State still brings enough of a threat to make this more than a formality, which is why this game feels like such an early swing point for the Mountaineers - a chance to bank momentum before the schedule starts demanding more from them. [Read more 🡒]