Like most Power 5 college football coaches, Neal Brown is pleased with his 2022 recruiting class.
The third-year West Virginia coach secured national letters of intent from 21 players Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period for the Class of 2022.
“This is a group that we’re really excited (about),” said Brown, who led the Mountaineers to a 6-6 record this season, including a 4-5 mark in the Big 12. “It’s been a group that we’ve put countless time into. It’s a group that thankfully we got to evaluate most of them, from camps to going out to see them play this fall and then they were able to come on campus for unofficial visits during the summer, unofficial visits for games and then official visits, which is refreshing since we didn’t get to have last year (because of covid).”
Four-star quarterback prospect Nicco Marchiol headlines the class. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound lefty from Hamilton High School was Arizona’s Gatorade Player of the Year and the MaxPreps state player of the year.
He threw for 2,690 yards and a school-record 37 touchdowns while leading Hamilton to an 11-1 record and a trip to the state semifinals. He also ran for 369 yards and six scores.
He is the No. 3 player in Arizona, according to 247Sports and ESPN, and a top 20 QB nationally, according to all recruiting services.
“He’s got some ‘it’ factor. He’s going to be a guy who is a fan favorite from Day 1,” Brown said of Marchiol, who threw for more than 8,300 yards in his career and had 27 offers, including Georgia, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Penn State and USC, among others.
“He’s got charisma. I think he’s got strong leadership capabilities. He’s a student of the game. He loves football. He’s been groomed from an early age by his father Ken to be a Division I and hopefully an NFL quarterback.”
Brown liked that Marchiol was a dual threat with a strong arm and is a physical runner. He’ll have a chance to learn behind starting quarterback Jarret Doege, who last month announced his plans to return for another season after throwing for 2,448 yards and 15 TDs.
The Mountaineers welcomed two other four-star prospects — defensive back Hershey McLaurin and linebacker Lee Kpogba.
Kpogba was an All-Region selection at East Mississippi Community College this fall after making 84 tackles, including five for a loss. He also had offers from Indiana, Louisville and South Carolina. A native of Ghana, West Africa, he was the 2018 USA Today North Carolina Defensive Player of the Year and played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. He started his college career at Syracuse, where he played in 22 games.
McLaurin was a two-time All-Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference honoree at Jones Junior College in Mississippi. He had 36 tackles and five interceptions this fall. In high school at Collins High, he threw for 6,000 yards and 73 touchdowns.
One player from Western Pennsylvania is part of West Virginia’s recruiting class. Offensive lineman Charlie Katarincic (6-5, 285) grew up in Fox Chapel before attending Choate Rosemary School in Connecticut. The No. 4 prospect in Connecticut by Rivals, he helped Choate to a 7-2 record and was named first-team All-Founders Football Conference.
In all, West Virginia’s class includes four offensive linemen; three defensive linemen, linebackers and cornerbacks; two wide receivers and safeties; as well as a quarterback, running back, tight end, athlete and punter.
Brown expects to sign about seven more players by the end of the recruiting period.
“We tried to address everything because we do have some light rooms,” Brown said. “We’ve got a collective group that we feel good about. … We’ve got some needs we need to address. We’re not done yet.”
