Rich Rodriguez was physically frustrated during the Texas Tech postgame press conference. Rightfully so. West Virginia was just stomped 49-0 by the Red Raiders, in a game where WVU didn’t look like it belonged.

Towards the end of his short nine-minute press conference, Rodriguez was aggressively folding his stats paper because he couldn’t look at it. Before he left the stage, Rodriguez said this:

“As soon as I leave you all, you fantastic people here, I’m going to start recruiting,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez’s solution to the 4-8 record and being blown out by Texas Tech was to rebuild the roster through recruiting. He won’t use the transfer portal as drastically as he did this offseason, and instead, will aggressively recruit high schoolers and junior college players.

So far, Rodriguez wasn’t kidding. Monday, WVU had multiple commitments from high school and junior college, and now, the Mountaineers have 35 hard pledges for the 2026 class.

Some of these players will make an immediate impact, and others will take some time to get adjusted to the level jump.

Wednesday, Dec. 3, marks the first day of the early signing period for Division I college football, and most of these players will sign letters of intent, meaning they’ll be on campus starting this spring semester, enrolling early, or in the summer.

Here are WVU’s big names to know that could sign letters of intent.

Kevin Brown, offensive line

Kevin Brown is the crown jewel of WVU’s 2026 recruiting class. He’s WVU’s fourth-highest rated high school recruit in the modern age, sitting just behind Brandon Barrett. Brown is a consensus four-star recruit and the second-best player in Pennsylvania. He’s the seventh-ranked tackle in the class.

Brown is a legacy recruit, with his dad, Tim Brown, playing for Rodriguez in the early 2000s. The 6-foot-5 recruit was committed to Penn State, but flipped to the Mountaineers after James Franklin was fired. Brown picked WVU over Ohio State and North Carolina because he felt the Mountaineers’ facilities are “elite.”

Rodriguez couldn’t directly say anything about Brown because it’s against NCAA rules, but he did hint on “The Pat McAfee Show” that Brown’s commitment will greatly help the offensive line.

Vincent Smith, corner back

Cornerback Vincent Smith is the highest-rated defensive player for WVU’s 2026 class. He is a consensus three-star, but on certain sites, Smith is rated a four-star. Smith is ranked as the 13th-best player in Illinois and the 40th-best corner in the class. He was originally committed to Northern Illinois, but flipped to the Mountaineers in the summer.

Smith is a big defensive back. He stands at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and uses his size to be physical. Smith isn’t afraid to fight off blocks and lay a hit on a ball carrier. WVU’s secondary needs help. The Mountaineers are losing a lot of their DBs to graduation, and tackling has been an issue, so Smith should help down the road.

SirPaul Cheeks, running back

SirPaul Cheeks, who is also known as “Jesus in Cleats,” is a consensus three-star running back recruit and is rated the 42nd-ranked back in the class. He’s ranked the 19th-best player in Virginia and picked the Mountaineers over neighboring school Kentucky.

Cheeks isn’t a big back, which WVU lacked this year. He stands at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, but he’s fast. Cheeks has won multiple track and field championships in the 200 meters. If Cheeks gets in space, he’s going to take off.

Jyron Hughley, athlete/quarterback

Jyron Hughley is listed as an athlete on recruiting sites, but could be the quarterback of the future for the Mountaineers. Hughley is the 26th-rated athlete in the class and 61st-best player in Florida.

Hughley played quarterback in high school, and his strength was his legs. He’s a very mobile and fast quarterback, which could fit directly into Rodriguez’s run-heavy offense. In camp, Rodriguez will have to decide what to do with Hughley, but he fits the mold of a Rodriguez quarterback.

Kedrick Triplett, wide receiver

Kedrick Triplett is one of the bigger products from Rodriguez’s heavy junior college recruiting. Triplett is the fifth-best wide receiver in junior college out of Pearl River Community College. Triplett was recruited by a couple of schools, including East Carolina and Arkansas.

Triplett had 25 catches for 399 yards and five touchdowns in nine games during his 2025 season. He’s a bigger target at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, and could see immediate play in his first season with WVU.

Carter Kessler, pass rusher

Carter Kessler is the sixth-highest rated player in WVU’s class and the highest pass rusher. Kessler is a consensus three-star and just misses the top 100 of pass rushers in the country. It’s a pass-rusher-heavy year. Four of the top 15 of 247Sports’ highest-rated players are defensive ends.

Kessler is a unit at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds out of Ohio. Kessler has a fast first step and is strong enough to blow up blocks in pursuit of the quarterback. He’s also fast enough to track down the ball carrier to pick up a sack.

Wyatt Brown, quarterback

Wyatt Brown is WVU’s only listed quarterback for the 2026 class, although athlete Jyron Hughley is leaning more towards being one. Brown isn’t the best recruit in the class, but he is still a consensus three-star. Brown has a couple of Division I offers still. He was recruited by UCLA, Utah and Cal, but he chose to come east.

Brown’s a bigger quarterback at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds out of Notre Dame High School in California. Brown, like Hughley, is also a mobile quarterback, fitting the Rodriguez quarterback mold. He doesn’t have as much shiftiness, but is still quick. Brown is also a lefty, fitting the Rodriguez quarterback history even more.