The West Virginia Mountaineers football program has added even more ammunition to the defensive backfield with a commitment from versatile Akron transfer Darrian Lewis.
Lewis, 5-foot-10, 190-pounds, entered the transfer portal April 22 and quickly made an official visit to Morgantown where he was able to see the football program up close.
He followed that up with trips to Purdue and Illinois but selected the Mountaineers football program.
Lewis spent all four years of his career at Akron where he appeared in 36 total games and recorded 205 tackles, 17 passes defended, 10.5 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions.
This past season Lewis notched 74 tackles, 7 passes defended and an interception while in 2023 he had 75 tackles, and 3 passes defended. During his first year on the field Lewis recorded 56 tackles, 7 passes defended and an interception along with a sack after a redshirt season.
Lewis is the second transfer addition from Akron to commit to West Virginia joining cornerback Devonte Golden-Nelson who committed to the Mountaineers during the winter transfer portal window.
He also represents the second defensive back to commit to the program since the spring window opened following Appalachian State cornerback Nick Taylor.
Lewis has one season of eligibility remaining in his college career.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Lewis and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
The data:
Lewis is a very experienced defensive back with 1,806 defensive snaps over his time on the field at Akron. The Ohio native recorded over 200 tackles and 17 passes defended along with 10.5 tackles for loss and two picks.
Lewis played a total of 602 snaps this past season and 432 of those were at slot corner. He also had experience in the box and at wide receiver as well as some limited snaps at free safety. Lewis also spent 375 snaps at slot corner the year prior out of his 651 snaps.
He allowed 80 of 120 passes to be completed in his coverage for 1,090 yards over that time.
West Virginia wanted to add experience in the defensive backfield and Lewis certainly checks that box with the production to go along with it during his time on the field.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia already had added 10 transfer commitments in the defensive backfield this off-season and Lewis brings that just one shy of a dozen since Rodriguez took over the program. The versatile defender is a player that could fill a number of roles for the Mountaineers ranging from nickel, to safety to even cornerback depending on where the program slots him when he arrives on campus.
The versatility is a key aspect here as Lewis brings a good skill set to the table and should be able to step in and make an impact immediately given what he has already accomplished at the college level.
Recruiting the position:
At this point, it might be smarter to just remove this section because West Virginia has been massively aggressive across the board filling major needs at various positions including defensive back. The Mountaineers have brought in a pair of transfers already with Lewis in the fold but has been linked to other targets with multiple positions to fill in the backend of the defense.
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