WVU HC Neal Brown Offers Thoughts on Signees from 2024 Class

WVU head coach Neal Brown was in good spirits while talking with the media on National Signing Day, and for good reason. Brown spoke highly of the 2024 class and what led these players to being Mountaineers.

He complimented members of the West Virginia staff, namely coaches Bilal Marshall, Chad Scott and Blaine Stewart, for putting in the work to acquire 22 high school players. Brown also talked about feeling as if the program is just now being “cleansed” of some past locker room issues. He made it clear he looks at a player’s character when deciding if to offer them even more now than he did in the past.

Let’s take a look at what Brown had to say about some of the biggest signees.

Khalil Wilkins, QB

“We had him in camp and then we had him on 7-on-7. And the day we had him on 7-on-7 he really put on a show. Made all kinds of big-time throws and I sat right there on the golf car behind him and he threw dime after dime. He’s going to be here in a couple weeks. It’s going to be a developmental process for him but he can run. He’s legit fast. When Mike Joseph gets ahold of him, I think he’ll only add good weight and get faster. And he’s got all kinds of arm talent.”

Obinna Onwuka, DE 

“He’s got speed and power. He played at Flowers High School, really good high school in Maryland. I think he’s got huge upside and we beat a bunch of people to get him.” Brown referred to Onwuka and offensive lineman Kyle Altuner as the leaders of this class and important pieces in helping to recruit others.

WVU HC Neal Brown mentions Obinna Onwuka and Kyle Altuner as important vocal recruits who were locked in early on and then helped get other players. He says normally that recruit is your quarterback, but he knew they were going to take a project this year. They stepped up and…

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) December 20, 2023

Ric’Darious ‘DayDay’ Farmer, WR

“I think Chad (Scott) was one of his first offers, if not his first offer. A lot of credit to Chad and Bilal (Marshall) because they just kept on. He’s been really productive. He’s a great kickoff returner. He’ll play early. He’s got to gain weight but he’ll play early for us.”

Elijah Kinsler, DE

“Won a state championship at Bergen Catholic, that’s one of the top high school programs in the country. AJ (Jackson) did a great job staying on him. A lot of energy. We saw him live multiple times. He played extremely well as a senior. He’s an early enrollee too.”

Traevon Dunbar, RB

“He’s been on campus multiple times. We watched him as he went through his senior year. And think about this..he ran for over 3,000 yards as a senior and good football too in South Carolina.”

Diore Hubbard, RB 

“Finalist for Mr. Ohio. If you look at his production in a really competitive league over there in Columbus…we’ve seen him live twice as a junior and as a senior. He not only runs the ball but he catches it really well. He’s a guy that I think in that room that Chad is building, he’ll be another guy that’s going to be ready to play. We’ve had success playing guys early in there.”

Dominick Collins, WR

“We had Dom twice in camp and he ran really, really fast. As fast as any forty time that I’ve seen live. And then he went out and had 83 catches for almost 2,000 yards. His production earned him this opportunity.”

Brandon Rehmann, WR

“Three-time state champion at St. Joe’s Prep in Philadelphia. Obviously high school teammates with Josiah Trotter. He was really good in the return game. When they come from that program, they’re ready to go. They know what work looks like. They know what preparation looks like.”

Jack Sammarco, TE 

“Jack is a guy that played his best football as a senior. He’s a guy that’s big, he’s got the size right now. Had a really good receiving year for them and he’ll be here early as well.”

Kyle Altuner, OL

“He’s an Under Armour All-American. We had him in camp twice and seen him play in games multiple times. He’s a state champ. Great football mind, tremendous worker. We’re going to play him in the interior and hopefully, I think center is where he’s going to be his best fit.”

Luke Austin, OL

He’s a tackle. Really athletic. He’s really fluid. Made a big jump between his junior and senior year and sometimes that gets overlooked because some of these decisions are made early. He’s a guy we continued to evaluate. We saw him in the spring and continued to evaluate him through the summer and he played really well this year. His athleticism in basketball is what kind of drew us in early.”

Justin Terry, OL 

“Just a huge human being. He’s got great feet, he’s got length. It’s going to be a developmental process for him. I think very similar to Johnny Williams, who we feel really good about being a factor for us next year.”

Makai Byerson, DE 

“He’s a legacy. His dad played basketball here for Coach Beilein. He’s a basketball player too, really good athlete. Played tight end in high school. I think he’s a guy that can play early.”