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Roane’s May signs with WVU

Roane County’s Tyler May signed as a preferred walk-on for the West Virginia University football program earlier this year. Pictured in the front row from left to right: father Greg May, Tyler, mother Penny May; back row (L to R): Roane County head coach Paul Burdette and May’s brother Cody.

SPENCER — Roane County football player Tyler May fulfilled a lifelong dream when he signed on the dotted line as a preferred walk-on for the West Virginia University gridiron program earlier this year.

However, his commitment took longer than expected. Then-WVU offensive line coach Ron Crook first contacted May his junior year and offered him preferred walk-on status as a running back/fullback before Crook left for the University of Cincinnati.

The Raider then lost contact with the program for three or four months before WVU defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and football player personnel coordinator Ryan Dorchester contacted him with the good news they still wanted him to come play for the Mountaineers.

“I am really excited about the opportunity,” said May, who was in contact with Division I’s Dusquene University and held several Divison II offers from West Virginia schools as well. “I don’t have a full ride but I get the opportunity to earn a scholarship. Just to be out there working on the field with my teammates will be a dream come true.”

May had his sights set on playing D-I football since taking up the sport at the age of 6 when he followed his brother Cody to practice.

“I was bigger than the other kids and kind of chubby,” recalls May. “I played on the line and at fullback my first couple of years, then in middle school I started to slim down and switched to running back.”

Toting the pigskin was where the newly-graduated Raider made his mark on the gridiron. Playing one of the most punishing positions in the game, May handled the dirty work of running between the tackles and plowing through defenders during his four-year stay under Roane County High School head coach Paul Burdette.

Great enough was his impact that he left the school in possession of six football records. May ran for the most touchdowns in a game, a season, and a career and was tops in scoring in those three categories as well.

He was named to the 2016 West Virginia Class AA football all-state second team as a utility player, before earning 2017 first-team honors as a running back.

May ran for 2,039 yards on 290 attempts with 24 touchdowns and helped the Raiders qualify for the playoffs this past season.

The new Mountaineer starts summer school today. He will work out with the team from now until August.

At the moment, May is undecided on a major course of study. However, just recently architecture stuck out to him as a possible education path.

St. Marys High School graduate Will Billeter provides a familiar face for May and the two are rooming together their first year in Morgantown. Both spent extended amounts of time with each other this summer after they participated in the Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis and North-South football classics.

Roane’s May signs with WVU

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