2022 Ohio Linebacker Mani Powell Names WVU in Top 6 Finalists

After a strong showing at a WVU prospect camp early in June, 2022 3-star linebacker Mani Powell from McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio performed well enough to earn his WVU invite.

Despite not officially visiting WVU yet, Powell (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) announced on Twitter that WVU made his list of finalists along with Arkansas, Toledo, Syracuse, Michigan and Indiana.

Top 6️⃣ ❤️💛💙🧡💛❤️ pic.twitter.com/5EstCyXu87

— Mani powell (@powell_mani) June 29, 2021

When talking to West Virginia Sports Now earlier this month, Powell made sure to reiterate that WVU still had a chance, and after announcing his Top 6, it’s clear that WVU did enough to stand out.

“I’m still in the process of breaking every school down and seeing where the best opportunity is for me,” Powell said. “I would say that the other schools that had already offered may be a little ahead just because they’ve gotten to know me but really, anything can still happen. I still have time to get to West Virginia before my season starts, which is a plus. If that happens, I’d still be able to breakdown West Virginia. They didn’t come too late, the other teams just got a head start.”

Of the teams that Powell named in his Top 6, he officially visited Arkansas, Indiana and Syracuse over the past couple of weeks. It’s likely he won’t be able to officially visit WVU before making his commitment this summer, but it’s clear WVU is firmly in the running.