West Virginia’s linebacker room already looks crowded, and Tyler Stolsky is right in the middle of that fight.
The redshirt senior transferred in this offseason after a productive year at Florida Atlantic, where he gave the Owls exactly what a defense wants from a steady linebacker: production, snaps, and durability. Stolsky started all 12 games, logged 540 snaps, and finished with 90 total tackles, along with 5 quarterback pressures and a pass broken up.
The numbers were solid, if not flashy. Stolsky earned a 64.1 ProFootballFocus grade overall, and in his lone game against a power conference opponent - Maryland - he posted a 69.3 mark.
Before his time at Florida Atlantic, Stolsky spent three seasons at Minnesota. His role there was much smaller, but he still appeared in 177 defensive snaps and collected 25 tackles.
What makes Stolsky interesting in this West Virginia countdown is not just what he did last season, but where he fits now. He’s the third linebacker already on this list, and the fourth if you count honorable mentions, which tells you how open this position group is heading into fall camp. Stolsky has a real shot to earn a role in the rotation, but he’ll have to beat out plenty of competition to do it.
The rest of the list at this point includes Ben Cutter at No. 19, Cam Griffin at No.
20, Amari Latimer at No. 21, Nick Taylor at No.
22, Malachi Hood at No. 23, Kameron Reddic at No. 24, and Prince Strachan at No.
In Other News...
West Virginia Suddenly Has A New Roster Question Across Three Sports
A fresh eligibility ruling out of Colorado has suddenly put West Virginia in an awkward spot across three sports, with a federal judge ordering the NCAA to grant an extra year to a broad group of athletes whose college clocks are about to run out. For the Mountaineers, the ripple effect could touch football, basketball and baseball, where roster planning is already tight and every scholarship spot matters.
The NCAA is expected to challenge the decision, but even the uncertainty is enough to complicate how West Virginia thinks about next season and beyond. If the injunction stands, the bigger question becomes how roster limits and revenue-sharing rules will be adjusted, and whether the Mountaineers will have to reshuffle plans on the fly while trying to keep their lineups intact. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Could Suddenly Have Some Unexpected Roster Decisions To Make
A federal ruling out of Colorado has put another roster wrinkle in front of college football programs, including West Virginia, by opening the door for some former players from the 2022 student-athlete class to chase an additional year of eligibility. Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that pauses the old NCAA framework for those athletes, creating a possible avenue for ex-Mountaineers to return to school if the decision holds.
For WVU, the timing matters because the NCAA is expected to appeal to the Tenth Circuit, and that process could stretch on for months before the picture clears. In the meantime, the Mountaineers may have to sort through an unexpected list of players who could become eligible again, a situation that can affect scholarship planning, depth charts and the broader shape of the roster well before fall camp gets here. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Secondary Suddenly Has A Bigger Question Than Fans Expected
West Virginias secondary was already shaping up as a key summer storyline, and Jason Chambers decision adds another layer to it. The starting cornerback spent last season as part of the Mountaineers rotation and gave the staff a veteran presence on the outside, which is why his place on the roster had figured into the conversation about how much experience would be back in the defensive backfield.
Now the focus shifts to who steps in around him, with the cornerback room suddenly looking thinner than expected. West Virginia still has options to sort through as it builds toward the upcoming season, but the departure changes the picture enough that the staff has to rework its plans and lean on a new lead option in a spot that was supposed to be more settled. [Read more 🡒]