Depending on one's perspective Wednesday's National Letter of Intent signing day in Morgantown was either a tremendous success or a disappointing bust.
Regardless of how the average fan felt, however, head coach Bill Stewart was only prepared to discuss the 19 players who had faxed their signatures to become part of the Class of 2010.
"Maybe, but I'm only going to talk about the ones who are here," Stewart explained when asked if WVU would be looking to add more names to the class. "There is a possibility of a couple of more."
Conspicuous by its absence was the name of four-star safety Latwon Anderson as the Glenville High School (Cleveland) became the topic of a late recruiting battle between the old gold and blue and Ohio State.
Whether or not the hard-hitting defensive player comes to Morgantown this summer or ends up in Columbus may not be known for several days.
Also electing to hold off on their letters of intent were two-star cornerback Ishmael Banks (Hargrave Military Academy) and Benji Kemoeatu, who isn't expected to graduate from Lackawanna College before the summer.
Then, there were the unexpected names which Stewart released during his 3 p.m. press conference.
Names which included four-star (No. 12) wide receiver Ivan McCartney, three-star safety Qudral Forte and two-star defensive back Avery Williams.
McCartney's selection turned what could have been a lackluster recruiting class into another solid one. The Miramar High School standout, who was a teammate of freshman quarterback Geno Smith prior to him coming to Morgantown, immediately elevated a receiving corps lacking many deep threat pass catchers.
Then, there are Forte, who Stewart spent several minutes raving about, and Williams. Two late minute additions which could see immediate playing time as Stewart looks to shore up a special team unit which was less than special at times during WVU's 9-4 season.
The official recruiting class is made up of two quarterbacks, four receivers, two linemen and one running back on the offensive side of the football and a pair of ends, three linebackers, two safties, one free safety and two cornerbacks on defense.
"We want to get to the point where we are signing between 16 and 19 kids per year," Stewart explained. "Our goal is to be two or three deep at every position over the next couple of years and to accomplish that we have to be a little smarter with how many kids we bring in at each position."
That doesn't mean, however, that the Mountaineers' head man won't bring in more if there is a quality player available.
"We will continue to search for those players that we believe can make an impact on our program in one or two years."
And, they will also continue to canvas the Mountain State in search for any high school talent that can contribute to the success of the old gold and blue.
Two of which reside in Parkersburg and will play for the Big Reds next fall. But, those are topics for the future.
For now Mountaineer fans will be able to look forward to seeing what the Class of 2010 can do to return West Virginia to a Top 10 program.
Contact Jim Butta at jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
