West Virginia Football is trending for a huge 4-star commitment

West Virginia football isn’t known as a dominant program on the recruiting trail but the Mountaineers are trending with a high-level wideout in the 2023 class. 

Earlier this offseason, West Virginia football scored a pretty important recruiting victory by convincing former five-star quarterback JT Daniels to become a Mountaineer.

That gives West Virginia a chance to be a legitimately be one of the better teams in the Big 12 next season and after three so-so seasons under Neal Brown, Mountaineer fans are ready for a winner.

The program was 6-4 two years ago during the 2020 season which was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown has done a solid job recruiting and signed a total of seven four-star prospects over the last two classes. but just one in the top 200.

However, the higher-ranked players obviously have eluded West Virginia but with one (borderline) top-100 wideout in the 2023 class, the Mountaineers appear to be the team to beat.

Four-star Rodney Gallagher, out of Uniontown, PA, is ranked 106th overall in the 2023 recruiting class according to the On3.com consensus rankings.

He’s also ranked second in the state of Pennslyvania and is 19th among wide receivers and West Virginia football looks like the clear favorite with his decision set to be announced on Wednesday.

The On3 prediciton machine gives the Mountaineers a 93-percent chance of winning his commitment and Gallagher has also been trending with crystal ball projections from 247 sports and in their composite rankings, he’s the No. 9 overall wideout in 2023. 247 sports has him ranked 103rd in its composite and 97th in its own specific rankings.

Gallagher is a unique athlete who has played quarterback for most of his career but has some experience as a receiver and a running back. 247 sports compared him to recent first-round pick Jahan Dotson of Penn State and here’s more of his scouting report from 247:

"“High level stop-start ability with excellent body control and acceleration translates well to yards after catch. Creative runner in open field with vision. Has mindset of can score from anywhere on field. Gets off line well and into route. Shows strong ball skills and willingness to catch the ball in traffic. Instinctual and aggressive in going after ball. Impact special teams player. Needs to add mass throughout his frame. Will have to fine-tune route running skills. Needs to be sharper into and out of breaks. Sometimes rounds routes. Could be impact receiver for Top 10 program. Mid-round NFL draft potential.”"

What Rodney Gallagher’s commitment would mean for West Virginia football

According to data from the On3 consensus rankings, he would be West Virginia’s highest-ranked commitment since the 2010 recruiting class when the Mountaineers signed Ivan McCartney, who ranked 57th overall at the time.

McCartney dealt with injuries and never realized his potential, which is a warning that highly-ranked recruits don’t always deliver.

But adding a four-star, top-100 type of commitment to a class without a single four-star would be huge. West Virginia is 38th overall with six verbal pledges, but the addition of Gallagher should improve that standing and will give WVU its highest-ranked pledge in over a decade.