West Virginia Finalist for 2022 3-Star Athlete Raleigh Collins III; Decision Upcoming

The West Virginia Mountaineers are in position to add another talented player to their impressive recruiting Class of 2022.

Philadelphia three-star linebacker Raleigh Collins III announced on Wednesday that he’s narrowed his long list of offers down to two teams: West Virginia and Penn State. Collins plans on revealing his pick this Friday at 6 p.m.

The coaching staff, in particular Jeff Koonz, did a great job recruiting and getting themselves in position to land Collins considering he had other offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Maryland, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State and Pitt. The relationship with WVU and Collins strengthened after he attended a prospects camp in Morgantown and followed that up with an unofficial visit and a private workout with Koonz.

Following his second visit in late June, West Virginia Sports Now spoke to Collins and got his reaction to Neal Brown’s rising program.

“The thing that really stood out to me about the visit was seeing the $55 million renovation that was done to the football facilities,” said Collins. “It was crazy. I was also really, really impressed by their recovery room. They had all these cryo machines and Epsom salt baths that players are able to jump into after practice, which allows them to get back to where they need to be physically. I also got to see the cold tubs and hot tubs that the players use. It was really nice to see all of that.

Courtesy Raleigh Collins

“He had me working at outside backer, the Will linebacker position. We were having me dropping me back into coverage. Because he saw me as a cornerback during the 7-on-7 Tournament on Friday for a few hours, he knew that I could cover man but he wanted to see me drop back into coverage as a linebacker, come support the run and transitions that they would do. He even had me working on some blitzes in order to see my mobility. He commented and loved how low I play because I’m 6-foot-4. Coach Koonz told me that they don’t have any commits currently at that Mike position right now and that he’s only looking at a select few and I’m in the top few of that group.”

Collins is one of two players from Philadelphia that West Virginia would like to add to their recruiting class, the other being four-star wide receiver Kevin Thomas.