West Virginia OT Lucas Austin enters the NCAA Transfer Portal

West Virginia OT Lucas Austin has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. On3’s Pete Nakos reported the news.

Austin did not appear in any games on the offensive line as a true freshman this year for the Mountaineers. He now seeks a fresh start in 2025.

Austin, a native of Sterling, Illinois, was the No. 1,088 overall recruit as a three-star prospect in the 2024 cycle. He also rated as a top 100 OT and a top 30 player out of his state. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. That made him one of their top-dozen signees in the last recruiting class for WVU.

Now, Austin is the 20th departure in the portal during this cycle for West Virginia. That comes after IOL Kyle Altuner, the highest-rated signee from last year’s class alongside Austin, entered as well earlier in the morning. They’re two of six total offensive linemen to have transferred along with Tomas Rimac, Bryce Biggs, Sullivan Weidman, and Johnny Williams IV. Of those total transfers, five have then already committed in Rimac (Virginia Tech) along with RB CJ Donaldson (Ohio State), WR DayDay Farmer (UCF), LB Josiah Trotter (Missouri), and CB T.J. Crandall (Oregon State).

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Pat McAfee makes passionate pitch to portal prospects to commit to West Virginia

Pat McAfee made a passionate pitch to all transfer portal prospects to consider West Virginia now that Rich Rodriguez has returned to Morgantown.

“(Rodriguez) said, ‘I’m a better coach now than I was last week. I’m a better coach now than I was 20 years ago’. I think he has changed his coaching style. He’s still in there, though. Whenever he saw those dudes lounging — if you’re a lounging guy, just lounging, okay? This might not be the place for you,” McAfee started. “If you want to sit up and get eager to get after somebody’s ass, this is the spot for you. If you want to win, this is the spot for you.”

“So, I would like to make a public declaration to all the dudes entering the transfer portal, or all the high school recruits. I didn’t tell Rich I was going to do this, or anybody, and nobody really tells me what I can or can’t do, which is a pretty cool thing, to be able to do that. If you’re a dawg, okay? If you work your ass off, if you love ball, if you’re going to be able to stay eligible, okay? Need to do the classes. A Rich Rodriguez team is the team for you. He’s going to ask more out of you. The weight room is going to be tough. The meetings are going to be tough. The practices are going to be tough. But the lessons that he’s going to drop into your life are going to carry you forever.”

“I was watching that meeting yesterday, and it’s the attention to detail that has helped me when I became a pro in the NFL, helped me whenever I started running my own business — I thought about the things that Rich Rodriguez told me, whenever I was 18, 19, or 20 years old. Maybe the lessons didn’t hit at the time but they went for the rest of my life. I’d be honored if my kid chose to play for Coach Rod. I think, if you’re a dawg and want to become the best version of you, I think you come right here to West Virginia.”

“We got money. We got a path to the College Football Playoff. And we got an absolute dawg as a head coach who wants to make it right.”