Early Signing Day Preview: An Overview of WVU’s 2021 Recruiting Class

Class of 2021 football recruits will be able to sign their Letter of Intent to their respective programs starting tomorrow. Signing will start at 7 a.m. Wednesday and West Virginia’s class currently sits at 16 verbal commitments. 247Sports rates the class as 35th in the nation and third in the Big 12, while Rivals rates the class as No. 42 in the country.

A number of recruits have announced their intention to sign with the Mountaineers during the early signing period, starting tomorrow. Here is a quick look at each of the 16 verbal commits in WVU’s 2021 class:

QB Will ‘Goose’ Crowder – Gardendale, Alabama

• A three-star, pro-style quarterback from Alabama. He committed to WVU on April 7.
• Crowder’s high school coach told WVSN that Crowder is mature beyond his years and fits the mold of a typical Big 12/Pac 12 quarterback.

RB Jaylen Anderson – Massillon, Ohio

• A four-star running back from Ohio, Anderson committed to WVU on April 16. He announced on Twitter that he is planning to sign tomorrow.

Almost that time to make it official on the 16th #HailWV💙

— Jaylen Anderson1️⃣ (@JaylxnAnderson1) December 4, 2020

RB Justin Johnson – Edwardsville, Illinois

• Out of Illinois, Johnson is another four-star running back who committed to WVU on September 27.

WR Kaden Prather – Germantown, Maryland

• A four-star receiver from Maryland. Prather committed to WVU on June 6.
• His commitment was a bit of a breakthrough for Neal Brown’s recruiting effort in the DMV.
• He has announced on Twitter that he will sign tomorrow.

No caption needed 🔒 .. Dec 16th💙💛 pic.twitter.com/GewHQODrKH

— KADEN PRATHER (@KADEN3TIMESSS) December 7, 2020

WR Davis Mallinger – Cocoa, Florida

• A three-star receiver from Florida. Mallinger committed on October 2.
• Mallinger announced will be signing tomorrow at 4 p.m. at his high school.

I will be signing with @WVUfootball on December 16th at @CocoaHighSchool at 4pm!💙💛 #TakeMeHome21

— Davis Mallinger (@davismallinger1) December 14, 2020

TE Victor Wikstrom – Sweden

• A three-star tight end from Sweden. Wikstrom was of the first commits in the 2021 class, committing in the summer of 2019.
• Brown has been aggressive in recruiting foreign talent, with three European commits in his first two classes.

TE Treylan Davis – Jackson, Ohio

• A three-star tight end from Ohio. Davis became the second tight end in the class, committing on May 19.
• Davis announced on Twitter today that he will sign with WVU tomorrow morning.

Signing with West Virginia University tomorrow morning!! Ready to get to work!! 💙💛 #TakeMeHome21

— treylan davis (@TreylanDavis22) December 15, 2020

OT Wyatt Milum – Huntington, West Virginia

• A four-star offensive tackle for Spring Valley, Milum is the top-rated recruit in West Virginia this year. He committed to WVU on March 7.

OT Tomas Rimac – Brunswick, Ohio

• A three-star offensive tackle from Ohio. Rimac committed on June 8.

DE Hammond Russell – Dublin, Ohio

• A three-star defensive end from Ohio. Russell committed on April 10.
• Russell was involved in a car accident last week, but is okay, per his father’s Twitter.

Thank y’all for all the love an showing him that he has people that really loves his thank y’all Super mentally drained right now but hey my son is alive an well thank you lord you must have big plans for him facts an I love each an every one of y’all pic.twitter.com/VYwNnej5Av

— H.Russell 3 (@hammond_russell) December 10, 2020

DE Brayden Dudley – Hoschton, Georgia

• A three-star defensive end from Georgia. Committed to WVU on May 28.

DE Edward Vesterinen – Finland

• The second European-born player to commit in the 2021 class. Vesterinen is a three-star defensive end from Finland and committed on June 29.

DE Ja’Corey Hammett – Miami, Florida

• A three-star outside linebacker/defensive end from Florida. Would most likely play bandit linebacker in WVU’s defensive scheme. Was originally committed to Miami, but flipped to WVU on Aug. 5.

DB Andrew Wilson-Lamp

• One of the earliest commits in the class, committing on Jan. 27. 247Sports rates Wilson-Lamp as a three-star receiver and rivals has him as a three-star athlete. Per his Twitter, he will play defensive back at WVU.

I wanna be one of the best DBs in the Big 12🤞🏽

— Andrew Wilson-Lamp₂₁ (@slim_drew4) December 8, 2020

S Aubrey Burks – Auburndale, Florida

• Originally committed to Indiana and flipped to WVU on Oct. 23. A three-star safety from Florida. Could play spear in WVU’s scheme.
• Announced on Twitter he will sign tomorrow.

December 16 signing day…🙏🏽 Dreams to reality 💙💛@AHSbloodhounds
S/O to @yo_coach_sass on the edit! pic.twitter.com/1WlrdIrs3P

— AB. (@aubreyburks14) December 3, 2020

S Saint McLeod – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Another early addition to the class, McLeod committed on Feb. 2. A three-star safety from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Will live stream his signing tomorrow on his Instagram.

Mountaineers family follow me on Instagram @saintmcleod I will be going live on Instagram the 16th for signing day ! @WVSIRecruiting @WVSportsNow @NealBrown_WVU @WVUfootball @CoachChadScott #wvu #HailWV #TakeMeHome21 @ryanwpatti @PaFootballNews pic.twitter.com/AcaCTmoXKY

— ST (@SaintMcLeod3) December 15, 2020