MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia, capitalizing on a late push, flipped Keishawn Richardson away from Wisconsin and landed a commitment from the Northeast Oklahoma A&M College cornerback on Wednesday—the first day Class of 2014 junior college prospects could sign with four-year schools.
A 5-foot-11, 185-pounder sophomore, Richardson told Rivals in November that Wisconsin was his leader, and as recently as last week several recruiting services still considered him Madison-bound. But with Richardson squeezed in a visit to West Virginia last weekend and changed his mind.
The two-star prospect also holds offers from Iowa State, Nebraska, Arizona State, Texas Tech, TCU, Indiana, Utah State and Memphis.
“He was pegged as a Wisconsin commitment until the Mountaineers were able to secure a late visit and pull him away,” said Rivals senior writer Keenan Cummings of WVSports.com. “Richardson is a physical cover cornerback—he has the ability to be physical at the line and displays great cover skills.
“He will have two years of eligibility at WVU and should compete for immediate playing time.”
Late Wednesday afternoon, West Virginia confirmed receiving Richardson’s signed letter of intent, as well as the LOIs from three other midyear enrollees—Riverside (Calif.) City College quarterback Skylar Howard, Coahoma (Miss.) Community College offensive lineman Sylvester Townes and Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College linebacker Edward Muldrow.
Richardson becomes the sixth junior college commitment for West Virginia’s 2014 class, which follows the Mountaineers signing nine in 2013. Among Richardson’s sophomore highlight reel are his special-teams contributions.
WVU now has 19 commitments overall for 2014, including eight on the defensive side.