MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For the better part of Dana Holgorsen’s tenure at West Virginia, his staff has found talent outside of the high school level. West Virginia coaches have hit the collegiate level hard to fill their depth chart, scouring junior colleges, searching for players looking for a new Division I team and sifting through graduate transfers.
It could pay off more this year than any other year for Holgorsen and Co. with a significant chunk of expected starters arriving via transfer. Depending on how summer camp plays out, there could potentially be 13 former transfers starting for the Mountaineers.
Offensively, of course, you have Heisman Trophy candidates Will Grier and David Sills.
Grier was once a freshman phenom at Florida after being a prolific high school quarterback at Davidson Day High in North Carolina. In his first season as West Virginia's starter in 2017, Grier completed 64 percent of his passes (250-of-388) for 3,490 yards and 34 touchdowns before breaking his thumb after 11 games. Grier, so far, is Holgorsen's best pickup via transfer and is a strong contender for this year's Heisman.
Sills's story has been well chronicled. He was recruited as a quarterback by Holgorsen before switching to wide receiver and eventually transferring to El Camino College to pursue quarterback again — a story broken here on DKPittsburghSports.com. But he came back to Holgorsen's offense as a wide receiver and developed into an All-American after leading the nation with 18 touchdowns last year. He caught 60 passes for 980 yards a year ago, earning a spot on the Biletnikoff Award finalist list.
Beyond those two, West Virginia will feature transfers tight end/fullback Trevon Wesco (Lackawanna), receiver TJ Simmons (Alabama), Jovani Haskins (Miami) and offensive lineman Isaiah Hardy (Lackawanna) on offense.
Defensively, West Virginia has brought in Kenny Bigelow (USC) and Jabril Robinson (Clemson) as big-time graduate transfers to bolster the defensive line this season. Bigelow was once a five-star prospect and a former high school teammate of Sills at Eastern Christian Academy. Robinson, meanwhile, was behind three players who ranked in the top 10 of all of college football, according to Sports Illustrated. A fourth Clemson defensive lineman ranked in the top 100.
The West Virginia defense also boasts transfers like defensive end Ezekiel Rose (East Mississippi JC), linebacker Charlie Benton (Butler CC), cornerback Hakeem Bailey (Iowa Western) and safety Toyous Avery (Coffeyville CC) as potential starters this season.
And don't forget kicker Skyler Simcox, who transferred in from Western Kentucky this offseason.
Key backups this season could include defensive back Josh Norwood (Northwest Mississippi CC), receiver Dominique Maiden (Riverside CC) and offensive linemen Joe and Michael Brown (Eastern Arizona).
So, why so many transfers for West Virginia? Well, it's worked for Hoglorsen.
Scrolling through the history books, Hoglorsen and his staff have been able to find diamonds in the rough via transfer all along. Some of the biggest names that West Virginia has produced since 2012 have been transfers.
Here are a few and what they accomplished at West Virginia:
Kevin White, WR, JUCO transfer from Lackawanna - 144 receptions, 1,954 yards, 15 touchdowns in two seasons (109-1,447-10 in his senior season).
Rasul Douglas, DB, JUCO transfer from Nassau CC - 22 tackles, 9 INTs (8 in his senior season).
Kyzir White, DB, JUCO transfer from Lackawanna - 113 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 3 INTs in two seasons at West Virginia.
Justin Crawford, RB, JUCO transfer from Northwest Mississippi - 354 carries for 2,244 yards and 11 TDs in two seasons.
Clint Trickett, QB, graduate transfer from Florida State - 3,285 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 game his final season in Morgantown.
Charles Sims, RB, graduate transfer from Houston - 1,095 yards, 11 TDs, 5.3 yards-per-carry average; 45 receptions, 401 yards, 3 TDs; 1st 1,000 yard rusher for Holgorsen.
Shaq Riddick, DE, graduate transfer from Gardener Webb - 7.0 sacks, 11.0 tackles for loss in lone season with West Virginia.
Maurice Fleming, DB, graduate transfer from Iowa - 48 tackles, game-sealing interception vs. BYU.
Ka'Raun White, WR, JUCO transfer from Lackawanna - 124 receptions, 1,862 yards 17 TDs in three seasons.
Skyler Howard, QB, JUCO transfer from Riverside CC - completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 7,302 yards and 60 TDs, rushed for 1,105 yards and 16 TDs in three seasons.
Other transfers to make an impact under Holgorsen include: running back Rushel Shell (Pitt), offensive lineman Mark Glowinski (Lackawanna), receiver Mario Alford (Georgia Military Academy), punter Nick O'Toole (Fullerton College), defensive back Khairi Sharif (Cisco JC), running back Dreamius Smith (Butler CC), offensive lineman Sylvester Townes (Coahoma CC), defensive back Elijah Battle (Dodge City CC), defensive back Mike Daniels (Globe Tech CC), receiver Ronald Carswell (Alabama), kicker Corey Smith (Alabama), offensive lineman Kyle Bosch (Michigan) and Antonio Crawford (Miami).
Transfers can be hit or miss, just like high school prospects. But more times than not, Holgorsen has been able to hit with graduate transfers. Early success in his coaching career with players like Trickett, Sims, Mundy and Riddick have helped, though.
"It's incredibly competitive and it's getting more competitive," Holgorsen said. "That market is continuing to grow. There have been talks in our head coach meetings of getting rid of the rule, and I think it's going to continue to be talked about, but it's not going to go away, which makes it more competitive. I think we're marked as a program that's had success with those guys and will continue to be marked when it comes to those guys coming in and being successful."
Though West Virginia's recruiting classes typically underwhelm in terms of rankings, Holgorsen and his staff have never seemed to be in panic mode after signing day. Director of player personnel Ryan Dorchester has noted before that West Virginia's staff takes a different approach than some other staffs.
"The last thing you want to do at this stage in the game is panic and fill a number just for the sake of doing it," Dorchester said. "Be patient, wait and see and we may be able to get a better player who can be a guy who provides meaningful snaps to the program (in 2018)."
The thing is, really, that very few high school players are ready from day one. But the other reality is that some rosters, like West Virginia, aren't afforded the opportunity to have top quality players waiting in the wings to take over at key positions when players either graduate, leave early for the NFL or transfer from the program.
That's where playing the transfer game has come in handy. Most of the time, players transfer into schools where they can play right away. They don't want to go to a team that's going to bury them on the depth chart. Sure, players oftentimes leave toxic situations, but playing time typically ranks high on their list of priorities.
West Virginia usually is able to offer that in many key positions — case in point with this year's defensive line group, which lost two key players to transfer in the offseason and subsequently brought in two guys they feel can contribute immediately.
"I have seen guys panic and offer guys that they don't know," Holgorsen said. "To me, that doesn't make any sense. Building it the way we have built it is good, and I like where we are with it."
So far, so good in the transfer game for West Virginia, but if this year's crop of transfers prove successful, it will only bolster the Mountaineers' success in that aspect of recruiting.