MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — East Mississippi Community College weakside defensive end Ezekial Rose, a late addition to the weekend’s visitor list at West Virginia, became the Mountaineers’ 16th commit for 2017 on Sunday.
Unranked by Rivals, Rose is a three-star prospect according 247Sports.
Rose holds offers from Memphis, Southern Miss, Marshall, South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette. He also visited Mississippi State.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder, after registering 6.5 sacks in 12 games as a sophomore, is expected to sign his national letter of intent this week and plans to enroll at West Virginia in January.
Rose previously played tight end at Clarksdale (Miss.) High School, where he also was a member of the tennis and track teams.
With starting defensive ends Noble Nwachukwu and Christian Brown graduating and junior Xavier Pegues yet to play a down in two seasons, West Virginia needs immediate help at the position. Freshmen backups Adam Shuler and Reese Donahue project to step into starting roles next season.
The Mountaineers’ other two defensive line commitments for this class — Darius Stills of Fairmont Senior High and Jalen Harvey of Northwest Mississippi Community College —are big-bodied recruits better suited for the interior.
Rivals currently ranks West Virginia’s 2017 class No. 53 nationally and No. 6 in the Big 12.