MORGANTOWN -
Jacky Marcellus called West Virginia defensive line coach
Erik Slaughter Thursday night to give him the news.
The Immokalee, Fla. all-purpose running back was ready to
commit to the Mountaineers as a slot receiver, he just needed to speak with
head coach Dana Holgorsen first.
On Friday morning, he had that opportunity, and his
commitment became official.
"Their reaction was that they're very excited," Marcellus
said over the phone on Friday. "They know I'm a great player and they like me
as a person and from what they've seen on film. They think I can be a great
contribution to the team."
Marcellus, listed at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, is aware of the
success Mountaineer fans have become accustomed to at the slot receiver
position with Tavon Austin filling the role in recent years. He knows he has
big shoes to fill if he is to contribute, but he is up to the challenge of
learning from the coaching staff and fitting in when his time comes in 2013.
"I'm great in the open field. I'm great with the ball. When
the ball is in my hands, I can do anything I put my mind to," says Marcellus.
"I feel like I'm really hard to bring down and I can run routes so I feel like
I'm a mismatch for linebackers at the slot. They can throw me in the backfield
and I'll run inside zone. I can do it all."
Marcellus showed offers from former Big East rivals
Cincinnati, Connecticut and Rutgers, among others, but he says at no point did
he let himself get carried away with which schools were interested or not. He
stayed focused on what was best for his future, and that led him to West
Virginia.
"I wasn't focused on the recruiting process like I was going
to play with the recruiters," he says. "I was really looking into what was the
best fit for me, I wasn't looking for the most offers or anything like that."
Though he has yet to set foot on campus, Marcellus is
planning an official visit to see WVU first hand and confirm all that he has
heard about the school and its surrounding community.
"Morgantown loves football. I know it's crazy about
football. I want to be in that atmosphere, I know that," says Marcellus. "West
Virginia, I like their spread offense, how they use their receivers and their
backs. I just like everything else about it."
A former Mountaineer, Noel Devine, helped push Marcellus
toward his decision to commit to WVU based on telling him some of his own
experiences in Morgantown.
Marcellus works with Devine's former speed trainer and
through that relationship, he opened a connection with Devine.
"I talked to Noel Devine about it before all the offers came
in," says Marcellus. "I got his perception of how West Virginia is and if they
offered me, would it be good for me. He told me it's a great place, the town
loves football and he said if he had to go through the recruiting process
again, he'd go to West Virginia again."
With one more season ahead of him, the 3-star prospect is
hoping to help lead his Immokalee High School team to its first season with
both an undefeated record and a state title.
He wants to leave on top before beginning again at WVU.
Marcellus is West Virginia's 12th commitment for
the 2013 recruiting class.
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