Popular WPIAL Star Can Envision Joining WVU After Latest Trip for Season Opener

Most WVU fans will look at the opening game of the 2024 season as a big disappointment, but what happened on the field didn’t serve as a detractor to a top recruit who was a guest of the program for the Penn State game.

Matt Sieg, a star out of Western Pennsylvania’s WPIAL, detailed his experience to WV Sports Now.

“It was great. I left after it started raining but it’s always great down there,” said Sieg about being in Morgantown for the Mountaineers’ biggest season opening game since 1998. Part of Sieg leaving early beside the rain was also due to having already been to visit WVU on countless prior occasions.

When asked if he can envision himself asa Mountaineer, Sieg gave an answer that should provide optimism for West Virginia fans, especially considering the offers he already has on the table as a 2027 prospect. Sieg even has an offer from Penn State, the team that beat West Virginia on the field on Saturday.

“I could definitely see myself at WVU. It’s always good talking with Coach Stewart and Coach Brown. I’ll be back down at some point later in the season.”

Sieg — a 6-foot, 170-pound athlete from Fort Cherry in McDonald, Pa. — holds offers from Akron, Nebraska, PSU, Pitt, Syracuse, WVU and Wisconsin, and he’s playing quarterback and defensive back at the high school level. It appears likely that Sieg will be recruited primarily as a safety, but wherever he ends up on the field, he’ll be one of the highest-recruited WPIAL players in the class of 2026.

Sieg has been elevated to a four-star recruit by 247Sports, which makes him a consensus Top-150 recruit in the class.

Former WVU assistant Dontae Wright officially extended an offer to Sieg last October, and the offer led to an unofficial visit for the game against Oklahoma State. He returned to Morgantown earlier this year, spending time with the coaching staff on Junior Day.

“I like their offense and it’s very fun to watch,” Sieg told WV Sports Now after the Junior Day visit. “I like that it’s uptempo and high-powered. I think I could definitely succeed there no matter where I play, just off of scheme, but I also think there are great coaches and all the tools to further develop my game in all aspects.”

While Sieg is an accomplished quarterback at Fort Cherry High School, he’s made it clear to WVSN in the past that he’s willing to play whatever position the coaching staff feels is best at the college level.

In 2023, Sieg was electric as a sophomore at Fort Cherry, completing 82-of-146 pass attempts (56%) for 1,650 yards with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions, adding 227 carries for 2,234 yards (9.8 yards per carry) and 39 touchdowns. And he racked up 20 tackles (13 solo), a tackle for loss and three interceptions defensively.

247Sports rates Sieg as the 140th-ranked recruit in the class (12th-ranked safety and fifth-ranked recruit from Pennsylvania) while Rivals rates him as the 142nd-ranked recruit in the class (17th-ranked athlete and fourth-ranked recruit from Pennsylvania).

Sieg is still a long way away from his class being on the clock, but it will be important to continue to strengthen the relationship and host him on additional visits.

Sieg will also watch WVU when he attends the Backyard Brawl on Sept. 14.

For a related story, Matt Sieg talked to WV Sports Now in February.