As West Virginia gets closer to the 2026 football season, the focus shifts from who has the most talent to who will matter most when the games start counting. That’s the point of this list: not the 25 best Mountaineers on the roster, but the 25 players whose play will shape the season the most. The ranking comes from an aggregate of three staff lists, and the first name on the board is redshirt junior receiver Prince Strachan.
Strachan checks in at No. 25 after a winding college path that has included stops at USC and Boise State before landing in Morgantown. His time at USC was brief - he played in one game and finished with one catch for 25 yards before a season-ending injury. Before that, he spent two seasons at Boise State, where he produced 578 yards and 2 touchdowns while averaging 22.8 yards per catch.
There was real momentum around Strachan this spring. He had recovered from the 2025 injury and stood out in practice, showing off the kind of size and ball skills that can change a passing game. At 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, he fits the mold of a true X receiver, and the highlights from spring reflected that with his catch radius and ability to threaten downfield.
That said, his status is again up in the air. Strachan suffered another injury and has missed most of summer, leaving it uncertain whether he’ll be ready for Week 1. If he is healthy, though, West Virginia believes he can bring a dimension to the receiver room that few others can match.
In Other News...
WVU Fans Will Be Watching This Roster Update Very Closely
West Virginias annual roster refresh is one of those summer checkpoints that tells you a little more than just who showed up for camp. The updated July 24, 2026 measurements give a snapshot of how the Mountaineers have changed since the 2025 season, from offseason bulk to the way the staff is listing newcomers against their recruiting profiles. For a fan base that watches every detail of the roster, it is the kind of update that can spark a lot of conversation before a snap is even taken.
What jumps out most is how much the weight room seems to have mattered across the board, with several returners carrying noticeably more size into this year. At the same time, the height column tells its own story, because the usual summer trend did not really show up this time around. The numbers create a curious little wrinkle for WVU heading into the season, and the one exception in the height listings only makes the rest of the chart stand out more. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Cook Is Loving What Latimer And Boswell Bring To WVU's Backfield
Cam Cook has spent enough time around West Virginias backfield to know the Mountaineers have more than one option behind him, and he likes what he sees from both Amari Latimer and Martavious Boswell. Latimer, a true freshman, has already earned attention for the way he carries himself in workouts, while Boswell brings the kind of burst that can change the feel of a running back room in a hurry.
For Cook, the appeal is not just talent, but how the pieces fit together as WVU tries to build depth and keep everyone on the same page. Latimers early maturity and Boswells speed give the Mountaineers a different look in the backfield, and both figures figure to matter as the season takes shape. [Read more 🡒]