MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On 2017’s national signing day Wednesday, West Virginia’s in-state high school football recruiting class will be remembered as one of the best in the state’s history, producing seven expected Power Five scholarship signings.
Three of those recruits stayed inside the Mountain State with West Virginia — Derrek Pitts of South Charleston, Morgantown’s Maverick Wolfley and Darius Stills of Fairmont Senior — while four others accepted offers at prominent schools around the country. Wolfley and Pitts have both already enrolled at WVU.
Capital linebacker Dorian Etheridge is a Louisville recruit, with Spring Valley lineman Riley Locklear already enrolled at Tennessee, Point Pleasant offensive offensive lineman Seth Stewart landing with LSU and Huntington’s Billy Ross at North Carolina.
Below is a look at those expected signings for Wednesday, along with several other statewide notables:
SOME OF THE OTHER STATEWIDE SIGNINGS:
— Class AAA runner-up Spring Valley will eventually send at least eight players to the next level, including Tennessee’s Riley Locklear. Fullback/linebacker Jonah Wellman will sign with D-I FCS Eastern Kentucky, while running back/defensive back Mason Brubeck will sign with West Virginia Wesleyan.
The Timberwolves’ Kaleb Hardin, Skylar Larcart and Brock Adkins will all sign with Charleston, while Chandler Stacy and Trey Malashevich still have remaining visits with D-III and NAIA programs.
— Class AA state champion Mingo Central produced several college football recruits with TE/DE Daniel Buchanan leading the way. The 6-foot-6 standout turned down D-I scholarship offers, including Toledo and UCF, to accept a preferred walk-on opportunity with West Virginia.
Also from the Miners, linebacker/receiver Tyler Grimmett will be a preferred walk-on at Marshall. Running back/linebacker Caleb Lester will sign with Concord, lineman Robbie Daniels with Fairmont State and lineman Mikey Hall with Glenville State. Running back Joe Hunt is also expected to sign in the coming days as he has still been weighing his options.
— South Charleston running back/linebacker Lawrence Cunningham will join Derrek Pitts at WVU as Cunningham will take a preferred walk-on spot with the Mountaineers. The Black Eagles will have a couple of D-II signings next week.
— Another preferred walk-on at WVU will be Martinsburg center Adam Stilley.
— At Point Pleasant, running back/linebacker Grant Safford will sign with West Virginia Wesleyan.
— Fairmont Senior quarterback and linebacker Jake Abbott, who helped lead the Polar Bears to the Class AA state championship game, will also accept a preferred walk-on post with West Virginia.
— Huntington running back/defensive back Seth Finnegan will sign with Alderson Broaddus. His teammates Manny Mercedes, Gus Workman and Cason Kessinger are all weighing their options.
— George Washington lineman Zack Kerns will sign with Charleston, while receiver standout Darnell Brooks will sign with Concord.
— Nicholas County quarterback/linebacker Tate Mayes will sign with Concord.
— Musselman is expected to have three athletes eventually signing with standout Latrell Warr leading the way. Warr is still weighing his options.
— University fullback and linebacker Isaiah Utt will sign with West Virginia as a preferred walk-on. The hard-hitting Utt turned down full scholarship offers from Fairmont State and Shepherd to join the Mountaineers.
— Morgantown receiver/defensive back Ben Waibogha will sign with Lackawanna College, while running back/linebacker Joseph Turner will accept a preferred walk-on spot with West Virginia.
— At Cabell Midland, Tyler Berry will sign with Alderson Broaddus, while Drew Keeton and Alex Ray are weighing their options.
— Spring Mills athletes Colten Henson and Demetreus Jalepes both have offers from Alderson Broaddus, with Henson also given the option to play baseball. Jalepes has other pending offers on the table as well.
— Weir running back/linebacker Cody Enrietti and lineman Jordan Allen will both sign with West Liberty.
— James Monroe running back/linebacker Tripp Shiflet will sign with Concord.
— Cameron center Lander James will walk-on at Fairmont State.
— St. Marys quarterback Will Billeter has been getting some looks and could find a landing spot, including Fairmont State.
— East Hardy quarterback Corey McDonald, who accounted for over 4,000 total offensive yards as a senior, will sign with Alderson Broaddus. East Hardy lineman Luke French will sign with West Virginia Wesleyan, while Ricky Robinson is weighing options that include Shepherd, James Madison and West Virginia Wesleyan.
— Lincoln receiver/defensive back Chase Riley will accept a preferred walk-on spot with West Virginia, while his teammate Anthony Kellar will sign with Lenoir-Rhyne and lineman Hunter McGary will sign with Charleston.
— South Harrison lineman Corey Fowler is signing with Fairmont State.
— Tucker County’s Eddie Kachmarek signed with FCS Robert Morris. Kachmarek also had an offer from the University of San Diego, and preferred walk-on offers from Marshall and James Madison.
— Magnolia quarterback Nick Priem accepted a preferred walk-on spot with WVU.
** These are just some of the signings around the state. Add others in the comments below.