3:06pm: Hotline with Dave Weekley

Cogar’s choice to walk-on at WVU over Toledo scholarship ‘a big surprise’

Screen shot 2015-02-02 at 10.39.55 PMCLEAR FORK, W.Va. — Westside senior quarterback Justin Cogar turned heads this week when he opted to attend West Virginia as a preferred walk-on rather than accept a scholarship offer from Toledo.

“It was a tough decision for me,” Cogar said. “I had the full scholarship offer, but WVU has always been the place I wanted to play at. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. I’ve been in contact with them a lot over the whole process and I feel like it’s a good opportunity to go play there. They gave a good push for me at the end and that really influenced me a lot.

“I think it was a big surprise for a lot of people,” Cogar continued. “I didn’t really make it public until (signing day). I’ve got great support from my family and friends and everyone in the community. It means a lot to me that they back me in a strong way like that.”

Ultimately, the goal for Cogar with the Mountaineers will be to earn a scholarship.

“I would love to get that scholarship,” hesaid. “Everyone has a different outlook on the walk-on thing. But for me, just to get the opportunity to play college football and the chance to prove myself once I get there … I’m confident in myself that I’ll do it once I’m there.”

During his senior campaign, Cogar led the Renegades to the Class AA semifinals, completing 195-of-323 passes for 2,611 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 1,993 yards and 38 touchdowns on 249 carries. He’s currently averaging around 20 points per game for Westside’s basketball team.

With the Mountaineers, however, Cogar said he’ll move to an H-back role, similar to Cody Clay.

“Switching over to tight end will be a big adjustment for me, but I’m excited about it,” he said. “Even in the summer, I went through some camps as a tight end. I have a little bit of a feel for it. I knew coming into my senior year that tight end would be a possibility for me in college.”

Cogar stands 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and said the West Virginia staff would like to eventually see him get up to 250 pounds.

“I’m going to go up in July and take some summer classes,” he said. “I’ll work out with the team a month before the season and try to put some of that weight on then. We’ll see where we’re at after that.”

The complete interview with Cogar is posted at the top of the page.

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