MORGANTOWN — Another weekend, another graduate transfer added to the WVU football program.
Strangely another from the West Coast as well.
Former UCLA cornerback Denzel Fisher announced his decision to commit to the Mountaineers drawing to a close the recruitment of the position in the 2018 class.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder was on campus for an official visit to Morgantown and saw everything he needed to see electing to end his recruitment before ever taking a visit anywhere else.
The Mountaineers were by far the most aggressive team in Fisher’s recruitment extending him a scholarship offer and building a bond with him through the efforts of cornerbacks coach Doug Belk who assumed the lead role in his pursuit. WVU also had something important to offer a player that only has one year of eligibility remaining; the opportunity for playing time.
“I only have one more chance to get it done. So, I want to make the best of it, and make sure coach Belk gets a return on his investment,” Fisher said.
A Los Angeles native, Fisher will be eligible for the Mountaineers this fall and is coming off a career where he appeared in 23 games over three plus years for the Bruins. While used primarily as a reserve with UCLA, Fisher has some traits that are an ideal match for the WVU defense including his length.
While California hasn’t served as a traditional recruiting ground for the Mountaineers, opportunities on each side brought the two parties together.
Edward Lewis, of bruinsportsreport.com, the UCLA Rivals.com affiliate, covered the career of Fisher and believes that his athleticism is one aspect that helps set him apart but he has to add strength.
“His problem was he could just never put on the required size to be an every-down corner,” he said.
Still, his in-game experience will be invaluable to a WVU cornerback group that returns only three-starts under its belt from redshirt junior Hakeem Bailey while the rest of the options haven’t seen the field.
Fisher is the second graduate transfer to join the program in as many weeks behind USC defensive lineman Kenny Bigelow and the Mountaineers are still looking to add one more to this class on the defensive front led by Clemson end Jabril Robinson.
Fisher is expected to arrive in May with one year remaining this fall.
As for WVU, the defense is looking better and more veteran by the day.