Brown’s First Recruiting Class Rated as a Success

With the dust now settled from the 2020 recruiting period, experts are rating the 20-man recruiting class put together by WVU head coach Neal Brown as one of the best in the Big 12 and one of the better ones in the country.

The class is rated 28 in the nation by rivals and 37 in the nation by 247Sports. In the Big 12 rivals has the class at third-best and 247 fourth-best. Both sites have WVU behind Texas and Oklahoma and 247 also has TCU ahead of the Mountaineers.

Brown and his staff signed 20 prospects across the two signing days. Two were signed during the February period, running back A’varius Sparrow and pass rusher Eddie Watkins.

Three of the 20 prospects have received four-star ratings across various outlets while all the other are three-stars. Cornerback David Vincent-Okoli is rated as a four-star by rivals and 247, offensive lineman Chris Mayo has a four-star rating by rivals and ESPN and defensive end Akheem Mesidor has a four-star rating from ESPN. Brown also snagged two of the best in-state prospects in defensive end Sean Martin and center Zach Frazier.

There are also three junior college transfers in the class, cornerback Jackie Mathews, defensive lineman Quay Mays and offensive lineman Tyriq Stewart. Stewart and Mays were rated in the ESPN junior college top-50.

In the whole class, West Virginia signed 10 offensive and 10 defensive players. On offense, there is one quarterback, one running back, four wide receivers and four offensive linemen. On defense, there are five defensive linemen, one linebacker and four defensive backs.