We have reached the bye week, and the West Virginia Mountaineers are riding into it with a two-game winning streak and a 5-3 overall record.
There are already several players who have established themselves as key building blocks for the future, but there are also a handful of players who will turn into high-level players with more experience.
Since we have a chance to talk about retention, I listed ten players the Mountaineers need to make sure they hold onto heading into 2027. Of course, there are a bunch of players that WVU needs to retain, and there are several not listed that could have very easily made this list for one reason or another. But here are my top-10 "must-keep" players.
Honorable mention: OL Amare Grayson, OL Nick Krahe, WR TaRon Francis, DL Nate Gabriel, DL Corey McIntyre JR.
Pretty obvious, of course. Hawkins is priority number one. Talks between his representation and WVU have been going on for weeks, and while it would be ideal for something to happen during the bye week, I'm not so sure that will happen. From what I have gathered, it sounds like this is something that will be done at season's end. Hawkins has earned two National Offensive Player of the Week awards and leads the nation in rushing touchdowns through eight games. He is a legit star and is going to be worth every single penny he signs for.
Cook is going to have a tough decision to make: return to WVU for his fifth and final year of eligibility or turn pro. The Mountaineers will absolutely put a package together to make sure he is taken care of and give him a competitive offer to what he could make at the next level if he's drafted late. The reason for the asterisk is that it's not really a retain situation. It's either back to WVU or the NFL for him. He's not hitting the transfer portal. Still, it would be huge for the Mountaineers to get him back for one more year.
He's had limited opportunities so far as a true freshman, but that's because he has one of the nation's top backs in front of him. Every week, it looks like things are starting to slow down for him, and the hesitation is a thing of the past. He's getting the ball and getting downhill in a hurry. Once Cook departs for the NFL, he is the next guy in line to put up scary numbers.
I'm not sure if Strachan will ever be WR1, but he can definitely be a game-changer with his ability to go up and get the ball on those downfield shots. He has dealt with some injuries throughout his career, and when you combine that with his stats, I highly doubt someone will try to poach him away from WVU. That being said, Strachan is definitely a receiver that the Mountaineers have to retain, considering they will be losing DJ Epps and Jaden Bray to graduation.
Brown is far from the player he will ultimately become, but he's had a pretty solid first year, especially for an 18-year-old making the jump from high school to major college football. He is only going to get better with more snaps under his belt, and before you know it, he is going to be one of the best linemen in college football.
You could make the case that Holloman has been the most consistent piece of the West Virginia defense this year, and although that may not seem like saying much, he has been as good as advertised. He is up to 21 pressures on the season, which is just three shy of the team leaders for WVU in that category a year ago (Devin Grant, Reid Carrico). He'll have two more years of eligibility remaining as well.
Tobror is just getting his feet wet right now and going through a pretty sharp learning curve since he didn't pick up football until late in high school. Those freshman moments can be pretty glaring at times, but the more he is in the system and gets comfortable, the better he will become. He has a bright future ahead and will eventually be a quality starter for this team.
I think it's safe to say that West Virginia is going to look for some corner help in the transfer portal this offseason, but Taylor is one guy you'd have to imagine the staff wants to keep around. Aside from the next guy on this list, Taylor has been the best player in West Virginia's secondary this season. Love the way he plays the game, always bringing physicality.
Latimer has been a baller all year long. He's always around the football, delivering bone-crushing hits and punching at the ball. He made two big hits in the game on Saturday that injured TCU players on consecutive plays. It felt like every time a play was made, Latimer was either the one responsible or was right there near the play.
Sieg left Saturday's game with an injury, so hopefully it's nothing serious that will keep him out for an extended period of time, but similarly to Kevin Brown, he's a talented youngster who just needs snaps. The coaching staff still has full belief and confidence in him turning into an all-league type of talent; he's just in a tough situation right now with not a lot of help around him.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/westvirginia as 10 Players WVU Must Retain to Build a Special 2027 Season .
