MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Three-star outside linebacker Xavier Preston of Jensen Beach, Fla., announced his commitment to West Virginia via Twitter late Thursday night, becoming the 15th pledge to the Mountaineers’ 2014 class.
“Committed to West Virginia #MountaineerNation.” read his first tweet, followed minutes later by “Let me get my West Virginia apparel up!”
At 6-foot-2 and 219 pounds, Preston projects at the Spur linebacking position currently being manned by sophomore Isaiah Bruce. He had Louisville, Rutgers, N.C. State and South Florida among his five finalists. He also held offers from Illinois, Indiana, UCF, Cincinnati and Wake Forest.
Rivals senior writer Keenan Cummings, whose website WVSports.com confirmed the commitment, called Preston “an explosive linebacker who has the ability to play several positions on the West Virginia defense. He has the size and athleticism that WVU needs at the linebacker position.”
Preston visited Morgantown for the Georgia State game Sept. 14 and left campus pronouncing WVU as his frontrunner. His chief recruiter was running backs coach JaJuan Seider, brought aboard last spring because of his recruiting relationships in Florida.