Jenkins will visit WVU this weekend
By JIM BUTTA, Sports Writer
POSTED: January 16, 2008
MORGANTOWN—Parkersburg High School assistant football coach Mark McCullough announced Tuesday night on the MetroNews Statewide Sportline radio talk show that All-American Josh Jenkins will be making an official visit to West Virginia University this weekend.
As a result, the 6-foot-5, 305-pound lineman will not be making his previously scheduled visit to the University of pittsburgh, who he has dropped from consideration.
Instead, the two-time Hunt Award winner will make the trek to West Virginia University and meet for the second time this week with new Mountaineer head coach Bill Stewart.
“We talked this afternoon,” McCullough explained to MetroNews’ Tony Caridi. “And he is no longer considering Pitt.”
Good news for fans of the gold and blue, but not great.
That’s because the Parkersburg standout just returned from what he described as “a great” visit at Florida State, where former WVU assistant coach Rick Trickett now calls home.
On Thursday, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel will be at the PHS football complex, the second time he has visited there.
It is a process that has seemingly gone on for a very long time and one that appears to be headed toward an 11th hour decision.
A decision that likely will come down to two schools—WVU and Ohio State, with FSU lurking in the dark looking to snatch away Jenkins’ services if the other two schools fail.
“As of 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, Jan. 15th, I’d say yes,” McCullough said concerning the three-team battle over Jenkins. “Really, I expect it to go the full term.”
Meaning fans probably won’t know Jenkins’ selection until National Letter of Intent Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
“It (recruiting) is a process,” McCullough said. “You never want to wish away a part of your life, but if Feb. 6th was tomorrow, I’d be happy.”
And so would thousands of Mountaineer fans hoping that the defection of their former coach and most of his staff won’t have a negative effect on a Class of 2008 that once was projected to be among the Top 25 in the country.
Jenkins is one of two announced recruits visiting WVU this weekend. The other is 6-foot-0, 203-poundlinebacker Jatavious Miller from Pahokee High School in Pahokee, Fla.
However, expect that list to grow before the week is out as Stewart and his partial staff of assistants will be out-of-state the remainder of the week making recruiting visits to as many players as they can.
? In other news coming out of Morgantown, it would appear that Stewart has put on hold his search for an offensive coordinator and the two remaining assistant coaching positions left open by the recent coaching departures.
Heavy rumors surrounding former Mountaineer player David Johnson continue to permeate the air around the campus and it appears only a matter of time before the necessary background check is completed to add his name to the staff as the team’s new offensive line coach.
The other area of immediate concern revolves the replacement of strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis and his staff.
Names continue to circulate surrounding his replacement with the two most talked about being Tulsa’s Marcus Kinney and Texas A & M coach Dave Kennedy.
Contact Jim Butta at
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