Transfer Portal Update: West Virginia’s Losses Have Been Mostly About Depth

Even after making the path forward for the West Virginia football program known, it’s impossible to ever truly have certainty in the midst of the current climate surrounding college football.

Neal Brown is still the head coach. His staff is presently intact. WVU has hired Wren Baker as its new athletic director. This is what is fact at this time. But as far as what type of roster they will be leading, that isn’t something that they can ever really be sure of of for months.

Based on all the news lately and departures, here’s a reset and a recap of the players (in no particular order but key players described) lost via the Transfer Portal since the end of the 2022 season.

Kaden Prather

Kaden Prather, the most recent player to announce he is leaving the program, is the biggest loss for WVU so far since the offseason got underway, and it’s not really even close. Prather’s loss can’t even truly be felt in his numbers from 2022 either. He caught 52 balls for 501 yards and scored three touchdowns as the third option for the Mountaineers this past season, but was undoubtedly going to be asked to step up and fill a much bigger role in 2023. With Bryce Ford-Wheaton and Sam James deciding to forgo the rest of their eligibility and declare for the NFL Draft, Prather could have moved right into the WR1 role, or at least solidify being the second option if they could bring in more of a down the field playmaker. Prather also became a favorite target of any quarterback who threw him a ball.

The Mountaineers have been making offers to transfer wide receivers, some of which could be difference makers, and did receive confirmation that top commit Rodney Gallagher will in fact be coming to Morgantown, but as things stand, receiver depth has become a problem and the plan of Prather taking over as the new veteran leader of a receiver room, that was once thought to possibly be loaded, isn’t an option anymore.

JT Daniels

From one big loss to another portal departure that really shouldn’t be viewed as much of a surprise or as having an impact on 2023 in JT Daniels.

He was supposed to help the program climb when he was added from the portal in the Spring, but the team lost when Daniels was at his best and then he lost his starting job to Garrett Greene towards the end of the season. With at least one more year, and maybe even two, left in his college eligibility, Daniels will now be seeking a fourth program to try to boost the former top prospect’s value again.

Reese Smith

Like Prather, it’s possible Reese Smith may have experienced an increased role if he had decided to stay at WVU. Unlike Prather, Smith never truly got the chance to show his potential and what he could do. Smith was  open about being on the verge of transferring before the 2022 season, but Brown sold him staying on the opportunity to be used like a Wes Welker type in Graham Harrell’s offense. That never got close to materializing, thus making it no shock that Smith now feels he has to leave to try to be the player he wants to be. He may even regret not leaving sooner in retrospect. It would be tough for WVU to feel any impact of Smith’s departure since he wasn’t used all that much, at least on offense.

Mike O’Laughlin

The news of longtime WVU tight end Mike O’Laughlin entering the Transfer Portal may go down as the most surprising of all, and that’s not because of the hit it is to the program. O’Laughlin has been a solid player for the Mountaineers, and he will be missed, especially as a blocker, from when he was on the field. Unfortunately, he was often not able to actually be on the field due to injury. O’Laughlin endured a season ending ACL tear for the third time in his career in 2022. He then announced he was contemplating retirement, knowing the comeback it would take to get back out there yet again. Going from thinking about retiring to transferring in a matter of a few weeks is a bit strange, but nonetheless O’Laughlin will try to salvage his eligibility with a healthier tenure somewhere else.

Despite Contemplating Retiring, WVU TE Mike O’Laughlin Enters Transfer Portal

Taijh Alston

After losing playing time to Sean Martin in 2022, Taijh Alston will now be searching for a new school to continue his college career, a career that started back in 2017. While keeping Alston would’ve been nice for depth, his production drastically dipped over the last year.

Jordan White

Despite seeing more game action during the 2022 season, offensive lineman Jordan White made the choice to transfer out of WVU. White’s role could have increased with some veterans on the line no longer around next season. He also has a chemistry with Garrett Greene, who took over as the starting quarterback in the final weeks of the season and could be vying for the main role in Week 1 next year.

Tyrin Woodby

Taurus Simmons

Will ‘Goose’ Crowder

Naim Muhammad

Nick Maher

Markquan Rucker

West Virginia has lost 12 players in total since the current Transfer Portal window opened. This does not count a player like Charles Woods’ exit because that was announced, abruptly and oddly an hour before kickoff of the team’s final home game. With that said, 12 is still tied with Oklahoma and Texas for the most of any Big 12 program. Oklahoma State’s 11 comes in second. Obviously that may seem like a bad things, and it’s not to say it’s a good look by any means, but the vast majority of players transferring out of WVU would’ve been relied on mostly just for depth.

As of now, Prather is the biggest loss for the Mountaineers. Not only was he already a productive player, but going to be relied on to step up more, especially as a veteran weapon if Garrett Greene or even Nicco Marchiol end up opening a season as the starting quarterback.

As much as I completely understand being fed up with Neal Brown and WVU fans should expect more (and deserve more), the program does have a strong recruiting class coming in, has not suffered a big portal loss yet and hired a rising star AD. There’s reason for optimism right now.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) December 11, 2022

Time will now tell who else joins this list of transfers and if West Virginia can bring someone in from the portal to replace what they have lost.