West Virginia No Longer In the Picture for In-State DE Zeiqui Lawton

One area that has certainly improved in nearly the two years that Neal Brown has been on the job as the head football coach at West Virginia is the success of in-state recruiting. Brown said in his introductory press conference that recruiting the state of West Virginia was going to be a top priority of his and his staff's and he has held true to his word.

With that said, there is one recruit that they have appeared to stray away from and that is 2021 defensive end Zeiqui Lawton of South Charleston. 

Lawton released his top five schools back in May, a list that consisted of Cincinnati, Boise State, Oregon, Illinois, and West Virginia. However, the Mountaineers no longer seem to be in the picture.

"It's been a while," Lawton said on the last time he spoke with the WVU coaching staff. "It's probably been a couple of months." Lawton also told Mountaineer Maven that as of right now, he is no longer considering West Virginia.

Does this mean that Brown is taking his focus away from the Mountain State? Absolutely not. 

In the 2020 recruiting class, he was able to secure the commitment of Fairmont's Zach Frazier (offensive lineman) and Bluefield defensive end Sean Martin. Frazier has already made his impact as a true freshman and looks to be a big part in the Mountaineers' future up front. Martin has received some high praise from Brown, but has yet to see the field.

In this year's recruiting cycle, Neal Brown landed a mammoth of a commitment in offensive lineman Wyatt Milum, who is recognized by SI All-American as the best "pure right tackle" in the country. 

This coaching staff understands the importance of keeping the top players in the state home, but it doesn't mean that they will heavily pursue each one. There may be better options elsewhere or it could be a matter of there just simply isn't enough room at that players position to take them or they may not fit schematically with what they do. 

Another thing to note: former defensive coordinator Vic Koenning was the lead recruiter for Lawton before being relieved of his duties. That coaching change could have played a part in the decision to slow down communication.

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