Illinois' Malachi Hood (45) plays defense during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia added a linebacker and a pass rusher, adding another Power Four-level player to its 2026 roster.

Illinois linebacker Malachi Hood is reportedly transferring to the Mountaineers, which was first reported by 247Sports’ Tom Loy. Later Tuesday night, Bowling Green EDGE David Afogho also announced he’d be transferring as well. Hood joined UNLV’s Isaiah Patterson, making it two linebackers for WVU this cycle. Afogho is the first pass rusher added and the second defensive lineman.

Hood was a starter for the Illini last season and helped the squad to a 9-4 season. Hood had 44 tackles, a pass breakup, forced a fumble and had a sack. He had a career-high six tackles against Western Michigan.

In 12 games in 2024, Hood had two sacks, two tackles for loss and forced two fumbles. Hood has an eye for the ball.

The Joliet, Illinois, native wasn’t rated in the portal, but he was a 3-star prospect out of high school.

Hood is expected to add depth to a linebacker room that was decimated with graduations. WVU’s top linebackers, Reid Carrico and Chase Wilson, have both run out of eligibility, so WVU needed new faces. Most of the young players on the roster have transferred out; most recently, Ben Bogle announced his transfer.

Linebackers are coming in through the 2026 recruiting class, but Rodriguez needed some experience. Hood has a couple of years at the Power Four level under his belt, and should be a nice addition.

Afogho spent three years at Bowling Green. He redshirted his freshman year and then played 21 games in the final two seasons. In 2025, Afogho had 37 tackles and five tackles for loss. He made his first career start last season and had half a sack in that game. He wasn’t rated as a high school recruit, but was a 3-star transfer prospect, according to 247Sports.

WVU lost a lot of production on the defensive line, and one of the biggest points of emphasis for defensive coordinator Zac Alley was disrupting the backfield. Afogho adds some nice size at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, which should help stuffing gaps.

Hood and Afogho joined the long list of young players Rodriguez has added in the portal. Rodriguez talked about how the Mountaineers planned to build young, and so far, he has done so through his additions. A majority of the transfer additions have more than one year left of eligibility.

WVU adds Group of 5 defensive back from transfer portal

West Virginia and Rich Rodriguez’s streak of adding players in the transfer portal continued Wednesday.

Memphis safety Kamari Wilson has reportedly committed to the Mountaineers, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Wilson will be WVU’s 11th portal addition this cycle.

Wilson is a journeyman of college football. Wilson started at Florida, where he played for two seasons. He played in 16 games in those two years. Wilson played the most snaps out of any true freshman in 2023 (311). He had 40 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and recovered a fumble.

Wilson transferred to Arizona State in 2024. He helped the Sun Devils reach the College Football Playoffs and appeared in 13 games. He didn’t do much and had 11 tackles, with six being solo.

Wilson hit the portal again, transferring to Memphis. He played in every game in 2025, including the bowl game against North Carolina State. Wilson totaled 85 tackles, had a sack, forced to fumbles and recovered one of them. He also had two interceptions and four pass breakups.

The former IMG Academy player was a 4-star out of high school and is now a 3-star in the transfer portal. He’s rated as the 94th-best safety in the portal, according to 247Sports.

Wilson was a needed addition for the Mountaineers. A lot of the secondary has left in the transfer portal, or graduated and run out of eligibility. Wilson is a veteran defensive back who should make an immediate impact for the Mountaineers in 2026. He’s a ballhawk that should help to defensive coordinator Zac Alley’s turnover quota.

Wilson is one of the older additions Rodriguez has made. Most of his additions are younger, so he can develop them and make them into impact players down the road. Wilson joining the team seems more like a win-now type of move.

WVU picks up FAU, Minnesota linebacker in transfer portal

The Mountaineers received a commitment from Florida Atlantic linebacker Tyler Stolsky, who announced on social media. Stolsky’s commitment came just two days after he took an official visit to Morgantown on Monday.

Stolsky started his college career at Minnesota, coming out of high school as a 3-star out of Michigan. He played his second year, after redshirting, and played in 13 games, starting in two of them on defense. Stolsky finished with 26 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He didn’t play as much in 2024 and decided to transfer to FAU.

Stolsky had a big year in 2025 with the Owls. He wasn’t there long, but was named a defensive captain in the season-opener. Stolsky had five tackles, including one for a loss of two yards, and he added a pass breakup in his debut. Stolsky didn’t have the best season after that start, dealing with an injury, but slowly worked his way up towards the end of the season. He tallied 86 tackles, had a sack and a pass breakup last year.

His performance in 2025 allowed him to transfer up to the Power Four level and find himself on the WVU roster for 2026. Stolsky is just one of three linebackers who have pledged to the Mountaineers. He joins Illinois linebacker Malachi Hood and UNLV’s Isaiah Patterson.

Rich Rodriguez and Zac Alley needed linebackers during this cycle. WVU has some coming in through the 2026 recruiting class, but there wasn’t a lot of experience. Stolsky is a more experienced linebacker who should help WVU win now. Rodriguez has added a lot of younger players, hoping to develop them to compete in a couple of years.

UNLV corner joins teammate, transfers to WVU

UNLV corner Andrew Powdrell announced his commitment to the Mountaineers on Wednesday night on social media. Powdrell becomes the third commitment for WVU on the day. Powdrell is also the second UNLV player to join the Mountaineers. Linebacker Isaiah Patterson committed on Sunday.

Powdrell started his career at Montana State in the FCS. He appeared in 26 games in two seasons and made 16 starts. He finished his career with the Bobcats with 35 tackles and two tackles for loss.

Powdrell made more of an impact for the Rebels in 2025. He played in all 14 games, helping the Rebels to a berth in the Mountain West Championship game. Powdrell had 63 tackles, 41 of his own and had five pass breakups. His performance registered him as a 3-star in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports.

Powdrell is now the fourth defensive back added. The Mountaineers needed secondary in this cycle, since there were so many players who graduated or entered the portal, so Powdrell gives them some depth and maybe a starter.

Powdrell is a more experienced player with one year of eligibility remaining. At first, Rodriguez was adding a lot of players with a couple of seasons left, but now it’s shifted. He’s been adding more experienced players who should help the Mountaineers in the short-term.

With Powdrell’s commitment, WVU is getting up there in portal additions, and it hasn’t even been a week since it opened. The Mountaineers have 13 transfers already. Rodriguez said he wasn’t going to add too many transfers, and the original number was in the single digits. But, there have been a lot of players to leave, most of the 2025 team is gone, so Rodriguez had to add more players.