Football
Since the turn of the century, West Virginia has produced some of the most electrifying and productive players in college football. Pat White, Steve Slaton, Noel Devine, Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Will Grier, David Sills V, and so on.
Two of those former Mountaineers, Tavon Austin and Pat White, were recently named among the top 25 most dynamic players of the past 25 years by CBS Sports.
Austin checks in at No. 10, and while that may seem low at first glance, it’s hard to argue he should be much higher when you look at who sits ahead of him – Reggie Bush, Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Lamar Jackson, Vince Young, Travis Hunter, Adrian Peterson, Darren McFadden, and DeVonta Smith.
The only one I think you could argue is Adrian Peterson. He had a phenomenal collegiate career and obviously turned into a superstar at the next level, but there are other running backs on this list (Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, etc.) who should be higher, so I’d probably throw Tavon ahead too.
Austin’s impact on the WVU program is still felt today. A lot of these recruits I talked to now were really young when he was in school, but he’s the first thing that’s mentioned when I asked what they know about West Virginia, or what makes the program intriguing. Having the most-watched football highlight reel on YouTube probably has something to do with that. Shoutout to Dougitydog.
Arguably the greatest Mountaineer ever, Pat White ranked 12th, just two spots behind Austin. White was ahead of his time, being one of the few true dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. His speed at the quarterback position was something we hadn’t really seen before, and it bothered opposing defenses for four years. During his time in Morgantown, he helped lead the program to its most successful three-year stretch in school history, winning 33 games in three years.
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