WVU Football Among Major Programs to Contact FCS Transfer DL

Even though West Virginia’s pass rush was a rare bright spot of an otherwise rough year for the defense in 2024, the defensive line still needs retooled for 2025 and beyond. This is why the WVU football staff jumped at the chance to let defensive lineman transfer Jelani Davis know they’re interested once he became available in the transfer portal.

The Mountaineers are one of several major programs to contact Davis since he officially became available in the portal, per Rivals’ national transfer portal tracker. Davis then confirmed this report by posting it on his own X (formerly Twitter) account.

Purdue, Vandy, Rutgers, Utah, Baylor, Tulane and West Virginia are among the teams that have shown interest in Davis

— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) December 24, 2024

So far, WVU is competing with the likes of Baylor, Tulane, Purdue, Rutgers, Utah and Vanderbilt as the other Power Four schools to reach out to the St. Louis, Mo. native.

He’s received offers from Bowling Green and Western Kentucky.

Davis (6-foot-2, 285 pounds) recorded 20 total tackles and three sacks at FCS Southern University during the 2024 season, his second year at the school. Before Southern, Davis spent time at Jackson State and played for current Colorado head coach and football legend Deion Sanders. He started his college career at a community college.

Part of what makes Davis attractive as a transfer is the fact he was two years left of eligibility, leaving room to continue developing him as a player and then benefiting from that work.

Find more coverage of WVU football recruiting at WV Sports Now.