6:00: Morning News

West Virginia adds 4th linebacker commitment for 2016

Three-star linebacker Adam Hensley of Centerville, Ohio, became West Virginia’s 14th commitment for 2016 on Wednesday.

 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As West Virginia prepares to enter next season with five senior linebackers on the two-deep, the 2016 recruiting cycle features an obvious position of need.

Thus the Mountaineers continued to add linebacker commitments Wednesday, when three-star prospect Adam Hensley of Centerville, Ohio, chose WVU over Illinois.

West Virginia lead recruiter Bruce Tall landed the commitment despite coaxing from Hensley’s former high school teammate Tito Odenigbo, now a defensive lineman at Illinois.

A 6-foot-3, 210-pounder likely ticketed to play outside linebacker at the Sam or Will spots, Hensley holds 10 Division I offers that include Cincinnati, Air Force, UConn and several MAC programs.

In an interview with Rivals writer Keenan Cummings of WVUSports.com, Hensley described his recruitment was a “done deal,” even though Kentucky and a few Big Ten schools reportedly are interested.

“It feels good that I can focus on my senior season,” he said. “It will be really hard to pull me away from West Virginia.”

Rated the 46th best linebacker nationally by Rivals, Hensley led Centerville to a 10-1 record last season while eclipsing the 100-tackle mark.

“He shows great burst rushing from a standing position and doesn’t give up on the play,” said Cummings. “Quite a few times you’d see him follow on the back side before catching up and tracking down the ballcarrier.”

The Mountaineers now have four linebackers committed to this class, including Logan Thimons of Freeport, Pa., Zach Sandwisch of Toledo, Ohio, and Dylan Tonkery of Bridgeport.

That’s a must-fill unit with Nick Kwiatkoski, Jared Barber, Edward Muldrow, Shaq Petteway and Isaiah Bruce entering their senior years.

Several other linebackers remain high-priority for WVU recruiters, including four-star prospect Brendan Ferns of St. Clairsville, Ohio. His brother Michael Ferns transferred to West Virginia from Michigan last December.

Hensley became West Virginia’s 14th commitment overall for WVU’s 2016 class and its seventh pledge during June.