Still three months shy of his 17th birthday, Oyenmwen Uzebu might be one of the younger football recruits in the 2018 class, but he doesn't want your cuddly love. He wants the unsanitized tough love. And that's what West Virginia gave him, leading to his verbal commitment over the weekend.
Uzebu is a 6-foot-6, 305-pound three-star lineman (247Sports) from Alpharetta, Ga. He committed to Minnesota on April 15 but decommitted less than a month later. On Sunday, the 45th-ranked offensive tackle picked West Virginia.
"I chose West Virginia because they have a great coaching staff and the the players are great," he told Rivals. "Coach Wick really is the guy for me. When I called up coach Wick to tell him I was committed, there was a little pause, then a yell."
Coach Wick is Joe Wickline, Dana Holgorsen's offensive line coach. Wickline came to West Virginia in 2016 after stints at Texas, Oklahoma State, Florida and Baylor.
"Most coaches talk to recruits all cuddly, but with coach Wick, he was his true self," Uzebu added. "He said, 'It’s not going to be easy, and I'm going to be on you hard, but it’s because I love you and we’re going to turn you into a great football player'. We went into his office and talked ball for almost an hour. I see the fire in his eyes to want to win and that’s what I want also."
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Uzebu picked West Virginia over Syracuse, though he also carried offers from North Carolina State, Pittsburgh and others. He is the 14th member of their 2018 recruiting class but only the second offensive lineman. The other, three-star tackle Briason Mays from Bolivar, Tenn., also committed over the weekend. The Mountaineers now the 50th-ranked class in the nation and seventh-ranked class in the Big 12.
Here's a look at WVU's future lineman:
