Holgorsen signs 26 to first recruiting class at West Virginia, five already enrolled

All of the hard work, traveling across the country and persuading young high school athletes, all came down to one day.

That day – national signing day – ended with the West Virginia football team taking in 26 players for the class of 2012.

West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen and his coaching staff brought in 14 players on offense and 12 on defense to add to the 2012 Orange Bowl champion team.

"Overall, pretty happy with what we got," Holgorsen said at a press conference. "There really wasn't any area that we had to stockpile. Recruiting is not an exact science to the point to where you can dictate what you can get. At the end you have to take what you've got. As far as the balance, guys, we're really excited about where we're at with it."

The Mountaineers added one quarterback, two running backs, four offensive linemen, one tight end, six receivers, three defensive linemen, three linebackers, four safeties and two corners to the team. Out of all the recruits combined, there were 11 players from the state of Florida, four from Ohio, four from Texas, three from Maryland, two from New Jersey, and one each from Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Adding a little bit at every position was exactly what Holgorsen was looking to do. The 11 players from Florida are the most the team has ever recruited in one season from the Sunshine state.

"I do think that the Orange Bowl helped create a lot of excitement down there," Holgorsen said. "That's as many as we've ever got out of Florida.

"Texas continues to be a state that we're going to continue to get into based on where we want to pull some kids from going into the Big 12 conference."

Five of the 26 players were already committed and on campus this semester. Those players are the ones Holgorsen and his staff have been paying the most attention to right now, as the other recruits can't join the team until June 10. They include defensive lineman Imarjaye Albury, quarterback Ford Childress, safeties Karl Joseph and Sean Walters and wide receiver Jordan Thompson.

"Those are the most important five to us right now because they're in here working out everyday, and we're able to spend time with them and keep up with their academics," he said. "Those five guys should be able to come in and help us right away in the spring."

Albury is a 6-foot-1, 280-pound lineman form Northwestern High School in Miami, Fla. He was a two-year starter and went 16-6 in games he started.

"Big, strong guy…Was a force for them for a couple of years. (We're) excited to have him on campus," Holgorsen said.

The player that could be Geno Smith's replacement, Ford Childress, stands tall at 6-foot-4, 210-pounds. He is a three-star recruit, according to Rivals.com and went 20-1 as the starting quarterback for Kinkaid High School in Houston, Texas. Childress threw for 3,171 yards and and 41 touchdowns in 10 games during his senior season. He also got offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College and Oklahoma State.

"He's been in a passing offense for the last three years and understands what we do offensively," Holgorsen said. "He beat a lot of people out, all the way from the west coast to the east coast, so excited to have him up here."

Joseph comes from Edgewater High school in Orlando, Fla. He finished his senior season with 126 tackles (97 solo), three sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four blocked punts and two blocked field goals.

"He's been doing an unbelievable job in the weight room," Holgorsen said of Joseph. "It's not going to take him long to adjust, physically. He's 5'9, 190 pounds and has got muscles sticking out everywhere. You can see on film that he'll be able to come up and hit you."

Walters, out of Hallandale, Fla. Is another big, lean safety. He didn't play his junior year of high school, but had a productive senior season, with 89 tackles and 29 pass breakups.

"He's a rangy guy that can cover a lot of ground," Holgorsen said. "(He'll) probably gain some weight and be able to move down and probably play some outside linebacker as well."

Thompson comes out of Katy, Texas, and is not big, at 5-foot-9, 163 pounds. But, he was the second leading receiver in all of Houston in high school. Holgorsen feels he will be a good addition in the slot.

"(Thompson) is not a very big guy, but as we found out last year with Dustin (Garrison), you come in and you get into a program, you're going to gain weight, and as long as can play you're going to be able to play," Holgorsen said.

Other recruits coming to WVU are wide receiver Deontay McManus and cornerback Brandon Napoleon.

McManus is a 6-foot-1, 210-pound receiver out of Dunbar High school in Md. This is the same school that current receiver Tavon Austin came from.

"One of the most highly rated guys that we have. Very highly recruited guy. He came in in the summer and was solid since day one," Holgorsen said. "Physically, I can tell you right now, he's ready to play at the next level. We have to get him here, and we have to teach him what to do. We have to get his skills right to the point to where he can get out there can compete at the next level."

Napoleon, out of St. Peter's Prep High School in N.J., was a two-year starter and is able to play several positions. He actually played quarterback in high school.

"(Napoleon) comes from a great family," Holgorsen said. "(He) is a guy that can do a lot of different things."