Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia received some brutal news regarding one of their best transfer portal additions.

During the court hearing where pass rusher Jimmori Robinson, along with other WVU players, sued the NCAA over eligibility waivers, the NCAA attorney stated Robinson was academically ineligible to play in 2025 because he didn’t complete his coursework at UTSA. The judge hadn’t ruled anything regarding the case yet, but it seems Robinson’s suit was over before it started, with him being ineligible.

Robinson was a big add out of the portal. He ranked eighth in sacks per game in the NCAA last season, and most of the players ahead of him are now on NFL rosters. Looking at it now, maybe other schools knew this would be the fate, so that’s why Robinson landed at WVU.

One thing is for sure: WVU and bandits coach Jeff Casteel have to continue with the expectation that Robinson won’t play this fall. Casteel and his room had already been practicing without Robinson, because until his waiver was passed, he couldn’t practice or sit in on meetings with the team, so there shouldn’t be any drop off there.

Getting to the quarterback had been an issue over the years. Bringing in Robinson was supposed to help, but now, WVU will turn to the rest of the room. Defensive coordinator Zac Alley said the pass rushers have definitely improved this camp since the spring, especially some of the younger players.

Casteel has five players in his bandits’ room, and there are a couple of players who’ve had success getting to the quarterback. Keenan Eck and MarShon Oxley both had big seasons at the JUCO level, with six and 12 sacks, respectively.

“MarShon Oxley is another guy that can get off the ball, and has done a nice job,” Casteel said. “All those kids are doing a pretty good job and getting a shot. Appreciate their effort.”

The most efficient Division I pass rusher on WVU’s roster last year was Wyoming transfer Braden Siders. Siders had 3.5 sacks last year and seven sacks in 2022. Siders announced his commitment to WVU in January, just a couple of days before committing to Arizona. During his switch, his former high school teammate Chase Wilson, who transferred this season from Colorado State, was hearing good things from WVU, so Siders had more of a reason to transfer.

But the biggest reason was to compete at a higher level and to get out of Wyoming.

“I mean, the competition level,” Siders said. “I’d say the biggest thing is I just kind of needed a reset. I was in Wyoming for five years. I kind of needed to change.”

The competition level during practice definitely increased, but during the first two games against Robert Morris and Ohio, he might not feel an upgrade in competition. Come Week 3 against Pitt, it’ll hit him quick.

Siders, who’s from Colorado, hadn’t been this far east. He’s still adjusting to the time zone change and is still learning the playbook. But he needs to learn and adjust faster without Robinson coming to help.

“It’s definitely more studying than I’ve had to do in the past,” Siders said. “But it’s, it’s also helping raise my IQ of football too, which I appreciate.”

Siders and the other bandits have their work cut out for them. It’s actually helped that Robinson hadn’t been practicing, so Casteel and the rest of the room already know what life without him feels like. With what Casteel has, he feels comfortable heading into the 2025 season.

“I think we’re probably very good,” Casteel said. “We have a pretty good group of kids that’s diverse, and they’re not all the same player.”