We’ll be providing minute-by-minute updates throughout National Signing Day as letters-of-intent arrive:
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8 p.m. — Austin-American Statesman columnist Kirk Bohls provides an entertaining look at the atmosphere surrounding a Texas class that felt subpar.
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7:48 p.m. — Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy seemingly brought in a balanced group.
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7:23 p.m. — At Oklahoma, defensive backs ruled the day along with a quarterback who has MLB potential.
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7:18 p.m. — TCU looked locally for the bulk of its signing class.
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Jacky Marcellus7:05 p.m. — A Naples newspaper reported that one of the Mountaineers’ holdouts, three-star commitment Jacky Marcellus, signed with WVU at his high school’s ceremony, but the running back’s LOI hasn’t made it to the correct fax machine in Morgantown.
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4 p.m. — Rivals just proclaimed Alabama as its Signing Day national champ for the fifth time in six years. With four five-star recruits and 13 four-star prospects, the Tide should be well-stocked for the 2014 season opener against West Virginia.
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3:53 p.m. — Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson had a funny explanation of how desperately WVU needed to replenish its receiving unit through recruiting: “We’ve got more drops coming back than catches.”
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3:30 p.m. — Holgorsen giving his demoted ex-defensive coordinator some love in his new role: “From a special teams standpoint, coach Joe DeForest did a great job of identifying (punter) Nick O’Toole. His upside is unbelievable. He is a large kid that has game experience. We are in a good position because that gives us a scholarship punter, a scholarship kicker in Josh Lambert and a long snapper in John DePalma that we are very comfortable with. We feel good about them because they are young and able to help us for years to come.”
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3:27 p.m. – Holgorsen on the offensive line signees: “We are excited to get these guys in here – Marcell Lazard, Tyler Tezeno, Stone Underwood and Grant Lingafelter. If you aren’t adding four or five guys per year on the offensive line, it is going to end up catching up to you. I think that gives us 15 bodies on the offensive line. You can never have enough of those guys. I like where we are from a depth standpoint. We just have to establish some starters there.”
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3:24 p.m. — With WVU awaiting the LOIs of DeShawn Coleman and Jacky Marcellus, both three-star running backs commitments, Holgorsen couldn’t discuss their situations. “We’re still actively recruiting a couple of guys” he said.
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3:20 p.m. — Holgorsen says there are a couple recruits WVU must monitor academically, but added “there’s a high percentage that are already qualified.”
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3:17 p.m. — Holgorsen says “the hardest 48 hours as a coach are the Monday and Tuesday before Signing Day,” when they play the waiting game for LOI signatures.
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3:15 p.m. — Holgorsen’s news conference underway. He highlights that WVU pulled recruits from 15 states, meaning extra travel for assistants.
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2:20 p.m. — Defensive line coach Erik Slaughter on 6-foot-5 defensive end/Buck linebacker d’Vante Henry: “He really can run. He ran anchor leg on his high school sprint relay team, and one of Oklahoma’s corners was on that team, so he outran him. ” … The Sooners tried to lure Henry the past month, but they’re still in a 4-3 defense, and Slaughter warned Henry “he’s not a 4-3defensive end (because) he’s not big enough, so he fits in our scheme better.”
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2:16 p.m. — Defensive line coach Erik Slaughter on 6-foot-4 defensive end Dontrill Hyman: “The guy’s a beast. He’s long and athletic. People thought he was my dad when he came in here on his visit. He’s a full-grown man.” After a summer of weights and food, Slaughter said “his body’s going to blow up.”
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2:10 p.m. — Special-teams coach Joe DeForest on 6-foot-4 punter Nick O’Toole, who spent his freshman year at a California junior college: “I like big kickers because of the power they produce. He’s got an NFL-type body. … He’s pretty polished. Hopefully he won’t come in here and get nervous in front of the big crowd.”
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2:04 p.m. — WVU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh on recruit Marcell Lazard: “He’s been committed to us for a long time and he has recruited for us. His ringtone is ‘Country Roads.’ He’ll do great things here. Every time I call him he’s just getting out of a workout and every Tweet you see he’s just got done working out. He’ll put in the time here and we’re excited to have him.”
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2:02 p.m. — WVU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh on summer arrival Stone Underwood: “He’s a smart kid, and I think he can” learn enough about the offense to play this fall even though he won’t be here for spring practice.
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1:56 p.m. — WVU assistant Robert Gillespie, who recruits Florida, on 6-foot-5 safety/linebacker Isaac McDonald of Hialeah, Fla.: “Isaac McDonald grew up being a fan of Robert Sands, and I think he heard the comparison so many times about being a big, tall safety, that he patterned himself after Robert Sands. He’s a great addition. We’re just excited to see what his body turns into.”
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1:52 p.m. — WVU running backs coach Robert Gillespie on Huntington fullback Elijah Wellman: “It’s exciting for me to bring a player like him into our program and, as a position coach, for me to bring him into my meeting room. It helps me show the guys from out-of-state what it truly means to be a Mountaineer.”
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1:31 p.m. — Dana Holgorsen on WVU signing nine junior college recruits: “Those are guys you don’t sign for the future. Those are guys that you sign for right now. … Time will tell if we made the right decision or not.”
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1:11 p.m. — Point of order: Shelton Gibson reportedly signed his LOI in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, but the school has not confirmed receipt.
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1 p.m. — Curious happenings in the Rivals.com national rankings as WVU ranks 24th, just one spot behind Texas. Granted, this Longhorns class has been weakened by decommits, but when’s the last time the Mountaineers were even in the proximity of a Texas class? Here are the composite rankings as of noon.
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12:34 p.m. — Four-star WR Shelton Gibson created some anxious moments for Mountaineer Nation, especially after WR Tyler Boyd chose Pitt, but Gibson followed through on his commitment and chose West Virginia a few minutes ago. Ohio State and Auburn were still pursuing him.
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11:24 a.m. — Daryl Chestnut, the three-star Miami running back who WVU hoped to pull away from Western Michigan, just signed with Indiana. He is rated by Rivals as the No. 8 all-purpose back in the nation.
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10:46 a.m. — Just updated the article on four-star WR Tyler Boyd, who chose Pitt after all. The Panthers are putting together a surprisingly strong-looking class. I asked Scout.com’s Brian Dohn about this Tuesday and he credited Paul Chryst’s staff with being great relationship-builders.
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10:39 a.m. — OK, Mountaineers fans, you’ve got your punter now. Nick O’Toole has signed.
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10:25 a.m. — Stone Underwood understands how to get on the good side of fans early. The junior-college center just Tweeted: “I’m officially a #Mountaineer now!! Lets go win a #Big12 championship!! #WVU #signed #hungry #MountaineerNation” … As a Mississippi native, I’ll have to ask him about this ridiculous class Ole Miss is putting together.
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10:18 a.m. —Three-star defensive end Marvin Gross has signed with the Mountaineers. The guy made 52 sacks the past two seasons at Dunbar High in Baltimore. … West Virginia now waiting on WR Shelton Gibson (was he waiting on Tyler Boyd?) along with RBs DeShawn Coleman and Jacky Marcellus. And, oh yeah, the punter.
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10:16 a.m. — Four-star WR Tyler Boyd’s gonna be a Panther. WVU and Tennessee get parting gifts.
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10 a.m. — Arizona Western College’s D’Vante Henry signs with West Virginia. Or is it d’Vante with a lower-case ‘d’ as some services show? Linebacker should go capital ‘D.’
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9:55 a.m. — Five minutes! Five minutes until Tyler Boyd is scheduled to go live with his life plan.
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9:51 a.m. — Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Stone Underwood, the odds-on favorite to be WVU’s opening-day center next season, has signed.
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9:49 a.m. —Isaac McDonald of Hialeah, Fla., has signed with WVU.
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9:41 a.m. — Marquion Lane, the DeLand (Fla.) cornerback, announces he’ll attend West Vrginia. At 6-foot-2, he could give the Big 12′s receivers a formidable matchup.
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9:19 a.m. —WVU officially adds Hinds (Miss.) Community College defensive end Dontrill Hyman to help with pass rush. He had 7.5 sacks last season. Hyman had offers from LSU and Mississippi State.
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9:02 a.m. —Texas native Tyler Tezeno, the nation’s No. 8 center prospect, has faxed his LOI to West Virginia.
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8:57 a.m. —The good news for WVU is four-star linebacker Darrien Howard has signed. The bad news — OK, the non-news — is that four star receiver Shelton Gibson has not. But it’s early, and teenagers are notoriously groggy in the morning.
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8:56 a.m. — Check out our webcast at 9 a.m. on WVMetronews.com, sort of a hump-day brunch with Tony Caridi as he chats with Kevin Kinder of Scout.com’s Blue and Gold News about the Mountaineers’ recruiting class.
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8:42 a.m. —Daryl Worley, the defensive back from Philadelphia, has faxed in his LOI. More help for the Mountaineers’ secondary.
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8:24 a.m. —Mario Alford, the small-but-dynamic receiver from Georgia Military College, gives the stiff-arm to Arizona and signs with WVU instead, following assistant coach Tony Gibson from the Valley of the Sun to the Appalachian hills. Alford had been committed to Arizona since October. (NOTE: Alford’s junior college teammate Brandon Golson, a linebacker who originally signed with South Carolina, could make it a tandem signing with the Mountaineers.)
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8:14 a.m. — Two offensive linemen, Grant Lingafelter (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Marcell Lazard (Bloomfield, N.J.), just faxed in their LOIs to the Puskar Center. In-state product Elijah Wellman also is officially a Mountaineer.
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8:02 a.m. — Safety Jeremy Tyler of MLK High School in Lithonia, Ga., picks WVU over Vanderbilt. It’s not like the Mountaineers beat out Georgia for the recruit, but it’s still a win over an up-and-coming SEC program.
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7:45 a.m. — We’re a little more than two hours away from four-star WR Tyler Boyd’s announcement in Clairton, Pa. He’s projected to stick with Pitt, but WVU and Tennessee are in the mix. His decision is scheduled for 10 a.m., and while Rivals.com gives his a 15-percent chance of signing with West Virginia, there’s probably even longer odds that his announcement goes off at its scheduled time.
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7:16 a.m. — Al-Rasheed Benton’s LOI has arrived. Let the flood of LOIs begin.
The two-time New Jersey all-state player and three-star product chose WVU over Arizona State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Maryland, Penn State, Pitt and Temple. Recruited by former assistant Jake Spavital (now at Texas A&M), Benton is a physical linebacker who did it all for his team at Shabazz High School.
Check out Benton’s profile, and those of the early signees here.
Gold and Blue Now Monday, June 17 
Gold and Blue Now: Friday, June 14 
Gold and Blue Now June 13 
Sportsline: Morgantown's Amanii Brown 
Sportsline: John Bowers 
Sportsline: Jedd Gyorko 
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Comments
CHAD
Any news on Gibson??He tweeted that he has made his decsion i an worried it isnt with WVU?
February 6, 2013 at 7:58 am | Report comment
Allan Taylor
All the recruiting analysts I've spoken to believe he's Pitt-bound. His announcement is still scheduled for 10 a.m.
February 6, 2013 at 8:57 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
Gibson to Pitt!!!, I hadn't heard that. I had heard Boyd but not Gibson to Pitt, tell me it isn't true
February 6, 2013 at 9:16 am | Report comment
Allan Taylor
Apologies — I meant to type Boyd in another thread. I've got LOI on the brain.
February 7, 2013 at 1:13 am | Report comment
Tom
It is with wvu
February 6, 2013 at 12:56 pm | Report comment
Tom
They held an assembly at his H.S and he signed his letter of intent publicly several minutes ago WVU is currently awaiting the fax.
February 6, 2013 at 12:58 pm | Report comment
Chris
This class is looking very good.
February 6, 2013 at 8:46 am | Report comment
Jim
The webcast keeps stopping on me. The class looks good so far. Keeping my fingers crossed that Gibson and Boyd come to WVU.
February 6, 2013 at 9:19 am | Report comment
Shawn
Dontrill Hyman signed
February 6, 2013 at 9:32 am | Report comment
CHAD
Allan, Gibson didnt even have PITT on his list did you mean BOYD??
February 6, 2013 at 9:36 am | Report comment
Allan Taylor
Yes, meant Boyd. Long couple days of NSD coverage starting to affect me, apparently.
February 7, 2013 at 1:14 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
Looks like we swiped Alford from RichRod in Zona, so I am happy regardless
February 6, 2013 at 9:44 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
wow sorry to be late to the party on that stupid comment
February 6, 2013 at 9:46 am | Report comment
Chris
Also got his team mate as well. I bet rich is not liking that.
February 6, 2013 at 10:40 am | Report comment
cutty77
It looks like My Man Gibby is doing a Great Job Fast too. Tony Gibson that is.This is what i call a Sneaky Class of Kids.I will take all the 3 star kids I can Get.Then we turn them into Men.
February 6, 2013 at 9:52 am | Report comment
Shawn
Listen...Boyd's mom just ain't having it! The kids going to Pitt because thats where she wants him to go.
February 6, 2013 at 10:04 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
I figured he would go to Tennessee, because it isn't WVU or Pitt. Plus Butch Jones made a very hard sale
February 6, 2013 at 10:11 am | Report comment
Shawn
I guess we shall see. I know we are getting some good kids in this class.
February 6, 2013 at 10:12 am | Report comment
Shawn
I knew his mom would sway him. Good luck getting a QB to throw to you at Pitt!
February 6, 2013 at 10:24 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
you nailed it Shawn, but I was just going off of what I would do. I really really like this class. I think all the DB's are really good fits, I think they are gonna make Isaac McDonald into a Robert Sands caliber monster. Greaves is just a beast, and if they make Lane a corner (I have heard he could be a nasty outside receiver) they are already set add in the other guys playing spot duty, looks good.
February 6, 2013 at 10:29 am | Report comment
Jay
If WVU and Tennessee get "parting gifts" of playing in the top two conferences in college football in sold-out stadiums, I'll take it. Good luck to the Boyd kid, though. Hope he finds what he's looking for in life...starting with a quarterback that can throw a football over ten yards.
February 6, 2013 at 10:30 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
Brandon Golson switched from Arizona to WVU too, excellent work by Gibson
February 6, 2013 at 10:36 am | Report comment
CHAD
Now if we can get Sheldon Gibson to sign this class will be huge>>>>
February 6, 2013 at 10:44 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
If twitter is any indication he is still with us, retweeting everything that says he is with WVU and such, but teenagers are as predictable as snow in Canaan Valley. We all know its going to happen, just a matter of when and how much is upsets you lol
February 6, 2013 at 10:54 am | Report comment
Shawn
I'm really proud of our staff this year. They did exactly what they said they would do...recruit for their system and get some kids in that can play football right away. Kudos Holgs and Co.
February 6, 2013 at 10:57 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
amen and amen, where are all the haters on this thread? Must be too much good news and they couldn't handle it
February 6, 2013 at 11:00 am | Report comment
Jim
Why is the ticker at the top of the screen not being updated as well?
February 6, 2013 at 10:59 am | Report comment