College Football

WVU Football: Syracuse Graduate Transfers to WVU

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:20 p.m. ET

Fansided, Phil Poling/FanSided via Hail WV

The WVU football program added a graduate transfer over the weekend who’ll finish his college career with the Mountaineers. Corey Winfield, the first addition for the ‘Eers since National Signing Day, has one year of eligibility remaining.

During his recruitment process and much of his two-day visit to Morgantown, Winfield was courted by defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, along with head coach Dana Holgorsen. Gibson’s had experience grabbing graduate transfers and plugging them into his defense, though.

Just last season, Iowa graduate transfer Maurice Fleming was looking for a program where he could finish school, but also play another season of football. At West Virginia University, he found that and was a key contributor for Gibson’s DAWGS. While Winfield’s a similar case off the field, his on-field production will be the deciding factor.

On Friday, Winfield took to Instagram to make his announcement.

Sep 3, 2016; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers safety Kyzir White (8) and West Virginia Mountaineers safety Jeremy Tyler (2) tackle Missouri Tigers wide receiver Johnathon Johnson (12) during the first quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

“I am pleased to announce that I am officially a West Virginia Mountaineer! I would like to thank Coach Holgorsen and the entire coaching staff for welcoming me to the Mountaineer family. I am so proud to be a member of WVU Football and looking forward to a winning season! #HailWV”

Winfield adds some much-needed experience to a secondary that graduated a handful of players. On National Signing Day the ‘Eers added youth to their secondary, but it’s guys like Winfield and JuCo transfer Hakeem Bailey who’ll get the first crack at defensive snaps.

The three-year letter winner at Syracuse started 20 career games and played in a total of 32. He totaled 75 tackles, 10 pass deflections and three sacks for The Orange. During the 2014 preseason, Winfield made the move to defensive back; he was previously a wide receiver.