MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Though he made West Virginia wait until mid-afternoon on signing day, three-star receiver Gary Jennings drew praise from the Mountaineers’ staff for the patient way he handled his recruitment.
Ryan Dorchester, West Virginia’s director of player personnel, joined “Sportsline” on Thursday night, the day after WVU rounded up a recruiting class that Rivals ranked No. 33 nationally.
Jennings became the final piece, choosing the Mountaineers over North Carolina, Virginia and Notre Dame on Wednesday. It was a decision receivers coach Lonnie Galloway and head coach Dana Holgorsen anticipated for months even though Jennings declined to commit.
“He told us he’s been coming for about six months now,” Dorchester said. “He never said it publicly, but told Coach Galloway and Coach Holgorsen that he was going to come to WVU, and he stuck to his word.
“He wanted to go through the process. He could’ve gone public and committed to us probably in September, but knew he wanted to take some visits and see some other things, so he held off. I’ve got no problem with the way he handled that.”
West Virginia parted ways with two long-time commitments, cornerback Antonio Howard and receiver Kahlil Lewis, after the pair visited other schools leading up to signing day.
“Part of the commitment process is when you commit to us we’re committing to you. You’re shutting it down and you’re not going to take trips,” Dorchester said. “If you’re still looking around, that’s not really following the definition of a commitment in my eyes.”
Listen to Dorchester’s complete segment above, where he addresses newcomers who might contribute in 2015 and the uptick of in-state talent.