Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

West Virginia State University Athletics

Navigation stripe
2026 FB Recruiting Class

WVSU Football Announces 2026 Recruiting Class

3/16/2026 4:09:00 PM

INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Yellow Jackets Football brings in a total of 64 new athletes for its 2026 roster. Out of those 64, 49 are high school seniors moving to the next level, and 15 are transfers from other institutions. Here is what Head Coach John Pennington had to say about his incoming athletes on National Signing Day.

"We are excited to announce our 2026 National Signing Day recruiting class! This is the biggest recruiting class we've had here in a long time and I want to commend our coaching staff for their hard work and authenticity throughout the recruiting process. I also want to think the WVSU faculty and staff for helping us show recruits and their families our incredible University.
 
We have 45 commits who are signing today to become student-athletes at WVSU! Of those 45 commits, 40 of them have a 3.0 or better. I think that is a great gauge into the kind of young men we are bringing to WVSU. We placed a HEAVY emphasis on the mentality of the young men we were recruiting, the overall fit with our institution, and the culture of our football program.
 
In this class, we were able to sign a lot of local talent. We signed 8 players from WV and a total of 22 from neighboring states (VA, OH, MD, and KY). We also signed 8 players from the state of Florida, 2 from Delaware, and 1 each from Michigan, South Carolina, and Texas.
 
We didn't graduate a whole lot of players from last season, but we still had some holes to fill and needed to add depth at all positions. Along with the 45 commits from today, we signed and enrolled 16 mid-year transfers to supply immediate help at certain positions, specifically in the secondary (5) where we lost the most players from last season.
 
Overall, this is easily the best recruiting class we've ever had here at WVSU and I could not be more proud of our staff for their ability to find not only great players, but the right fit for our football program and University as a whole. Yellow Jacket Nation, please welcome the newest members of our football family!"


Full Recruiting Board
HIGH SCHOOL COMMITS POSITION HEIGHT WEIGHT HIGH SCHOOL HOMETOWN
Adkins, Benji TE 6'6 235 Chapmanville (WV) Harts, WV
Baskerville, Zion TE 6'3 205 William Fleming (VA) Roanoke, VA
Brownlee, Christopher RB 6'1 225 Swartz Creek (MI) Flint, MI
Burke, Elijah RB 6'1" 210 Saint Mark's (DE) Middletown, DE
Butler, Maurice LB 6'2 225 Edgewood (MD) Edgewood, WD
Carter, Jonathan OL 6'3 305 Portsmouth (OH) Portsmouth, OH
Clary, Preston WR 6'2 180 Woodrow Wilson (WV) Beckley, WV
Combs, DJ WR 5'11 165 Poca (WV) Cross Lanes, WV
Cunningham, Derian QB 5'11" 180 Middletown (DE) Middletown, DE
DeSantis, Will DL 6'3 240 Fork Union Parkton, MD
Dakiyia, Lansana CB 5'10 185 Smyrna (DE) Smyrna, DE
Edens, Bradley DL 5'11" 280 Cabell Midland (WV) Ona, WV
Fleming, Josiah DB 6'1 175 Patrick Henry (VA) Roanoke, VA
Golding, Samuel OL 6'7 290 Iowa Colony (TX) Rosharon, TX
Gonzales, Jovanny LB 5'10 200 William Fleming (VA) Roanoke, VA
Green, Stanley DL 6'4 250 Lake Brantley (FL) Oviedo, FL
Groves, Bobby WR 6'1 180 Saint Mark's (DE) Middletown, DE
Harmon, David (DJ) LB 5'11 205 Palm Beach Central (FL) Altamonte Springs, FL
Hill, Jayden OL 5'9 260 Nitro (WV) Charleston, WV
Hughes, Elijah RB 6'0 225 EC Glass (VA) Lynchburg, VA
Hutchins, Jejuan LB 5'11 210 Benedictine (VA) Colonial Heights, VA
Lawton, Blake DB 5'10 175 Arundel (MD) Gambrills, MD
Lewis, Colton OL 6'6 305 Atherton (KY) Louisville, KY
Lilly, Reece QB 6'5 205 St. Albans (WV) Tornado, WV
Manor, Duane (DJ) WR 6'2 180 Miami Central (FL) Opa-Locka, FL
McDuffie, Kayden LB 6'0 208 Meade (MD) Fort Meade, MD
Mickens, Cedric DL 6'2 300 Palm Beach Gardens (FL) West Palm Beach, FL
Morris, Makhi OL 6'2 330 Atherton (KY) Louisville, KY
Murphy, Kaden RB 5'9 190 Dawson Bryant (OH) Coal Grove, OH
Nsungula, Ramazani OLB 6'2 210 Pickerington Central (OH) Pickerington, OH
Ojo, Joseph DL 6'4 225 Arundel (MD) Odenton, MD
Otero-Gray, Deleon DB 6'0 170 St. Charles (MD) Waldorf, MD
Otis, Guyton OLB 6'0 200 Miami Central (FL) Miramar, FL
Owens, Jack OL 6'5 280 New Braunfels, TX New Braunfels, TX
Parsons, Tytan TE 6'4 205 Parkersburg (WV) Vienna, WV
Patterson, Amauri WR 5'8 160 Milford Mill (MD) Milford Mill, MD
Roberts, Dwayne WR 6'0 190 William Fleming (VA) Roanoke, VA
Quinton, Cooper OL 6'2 290 East Lake (FL) Tarpon Springs, FL
Sauvernson, Paul DL 6'4 245 Glades Central (FL) Belle Glade, FL
Shepherd, Mason DL 6'4 235 Eastern (OH) Coolville, OH
Simpson, Antonio DL 6'2 230 Pahokee (FL) Pahokee, FL
Stroud, Ke'Aaron OL 6'0 260 Trotwood (OH) Dayton, OH
Thacker, Phillip TE 6'3 210 Chesapeake (OH) Chesapeake, OH
Toussaint, Emmanuel DB 6'0 185 Atlantic (FL) West Palm Beach, FL
Watson, Jayvion WR 5'10 180 North Point (MD) Waldorf, MD
Whitehead, Jhison DL 6'1 295 Hermitage (VA) Ashland, VA
Whitfield, Julian DB 6'0 170 Ashley Ridge (SC) Summerville, SC
Wise, Jeremiah WR 5'10 170 Colonial Forge (VA) Stafford, VA
Whipp, Kane OL 6'0 270 Martinsburg (WV) Martinsburg, WV

 

 

 

 

 

 
TRANSFERS POSITION HEIGHT WEIGHT PREVIOUS SCHOOL HOMETOWN
Almonord, Gaby DB 6'0 180 Concord Deerfield Beach, FL
Borders, Jawesley TE 6'2 210 Avila Avon, IN
Demps, Semaj WR 5'7 160 FIU Belle Glade, FL
Floyd, Quan CB 5'11 175 Georgia Military Kingsland, GA
Geter, Jaylen DB 5'11 205 West Georgia Newnan, GA
Griffin, Shoka RB 5'10 210 Bluefield College Muncie, IN
Hughes, Walter OL 6'0 320 NOVA CC Woodbridge, VA
Jackson, Jacob LB 5'10 215 Charleston Southern Grove Town, GA
Jaf-Ogunlayi, Similoluwa RB 5'8 170 Rio Grande Pataskala, OH
Johnson, Kian WR/CB 5'8 175 Temple West Palm Beach, FL
Kalitsnik, Justin LB 6'0 220 Old Dominion Milford, PA
McGhee, Latrell CB 6'0 185 Peru State Pensacola, FL
Poriah, Seth OLB 6'0 240 West Liberty Westfield, IN
Self, Desmon OL 6'4 275 Edward Waters Delray Beach, FL
Smith, Trevyn DB 6'0 195 Louisburg College Orange Park, FL
Print Friendly Version