With time off, WVU staff hits the recruiting trail
West Virginia’s football team may have had a break in its schedule.
But that didn’t extend to its coaches.
With last week off, Mountaineer head coach Rich Rodriguez and some of his assistants took to the road recruiting.
“Bill [Kirelawich] and I were out in Kansas,” said WVU recruiting coordinator Tony Gibson. “Jeff [Casteel] was in Arizona. Calvin [Magee] and Rod Smith were in Florida. Billy [Stewart] was in Virginia. And Tony Dews was in California working on junior colleges.”
Gibson also said he and Rodriguez were in Pittsburgh Friday night. He couldn’t point to specific recruits, but the coaches were spotted at the Jeannette-Carlynton game. That’s where super Jeannette High recruit Terrelle Pryor played.
Stories about the game, however, suggested Terrelle Pryor probably didn’t play much. Jeannette took a 49-0 halftime lead and led 63-0 after three quarters.
Various reports indicate West Virginia is faring well in regard to the quarterback, rated the nation’s No. 1 recruit by some scouting services. Although Terrelle Pryor’s official list is down to Ohio State, West Virginia, Florida, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas, many believe he’s trying to decide between the Buckeyes and the Mountaineers.
Gibson said Rodriguez’s staff is still going full bore recruiting for the upcoming class even though the commitment list has climbed to 14 or 15.
Alphabetically, WVU has commitments from running back Jahleel Addae, offensive lineman John Bassler, defensive tackle Jeff Braun, athlete J.J. Dorsey, wide receiver Andrew Harris, offensive lineman Josh Jenkins, running back Terrence Kerns, offensive lineman Joey Madsen, running back Onterrio McCalebb, linebacker Donovan Miles, defensive back Darius Packer, defensive tackle Christopher Palmer, defensive back Jermaine Robinson, athlete Chris Smith and defensive back Jerome Swinton. (Robinson’s status as a commitment seems iffy.)
The latest to commit to the Mountaineers is McCalebb, a 5-foot-11, 181-pound back from Fort Meade, Fla. Rated by most services as a three-star recruit, McCalebb has reportedly turned down offers from the likes of Auburn, Clemson, Rutgers, Miami, South Florida, Kentucky and North Carolina. On Friday night, McCalebb had 84 yards rushing on 24 carries in Fort Meade’s 23-7 win over Bartow. Apparently, Miners coach Mike Hayde likes to use a variety of weapons in his offense. That’s why the recruit has but 638 yards on 73 carries for an average of 8.7 yards per carry. Heading into the Bartow game, the back was averaging 11.3 yards. The Miners are 5-1.
Gibson said this weekend has been busy for WVU’s staff.
“[Kirelawich] and I hit seven different schools [in Kansas],” Gibson said. “We’re still getting names and seeing kids we have committed. We’re watching games. Yeah, we’re still working on this year.”
The recruiting coordinator said he didn’t notice a difference in interest after the WVU loss to South Florida. The Mountaineers, of course, rebounded to whip Syracuse 55-14.
“Not really,” Gibson said. “If you start to lose consistently that would be one thing. But now the talk is about us being in the top 10, Pat White, Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt. People seem to know all about our program right now.
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