This past Saturday, West Virginia commemorated the 33rd West Virginia University Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
Out of the class, one of the most well-known names was former Mountaineer football player Bruce Irvin. Irvin played for West Virginia from 2010-2011 and he had an unconventional route to Morgantown.
He dropped out of high school, and it took him a year and a half for him to eventually earn his GED. From there, he enrolled at Butler Community College where he walked onto their football team. Out of frustration with his role on the team at Butler, he transferred to Mt. San Antonio College, recording 72 tackles, 16 sacks, and three forced fumbles.
The strong season led him to commit to Tennessee to play football, which was then flipped to Arizona State, and then finally to West Virginia.
In 2010, Irvin finished second in the nation in sacks with 14 as the Mountaineers finished with a 9-4 record, and their 5-2 record in Big East play gave them a share of the Big East conference title with Connecticut and Pittsburgh.
Irvin’s 2011 campaign saw him record 40 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles. West Virginia finished with a 10-3 record and a 5-2 record in Big East play that year. It was their final year in the Big East before moving to the Big 12, beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl 70-33.
After his senior season, he declared for the NFL draft. Between his athleticism and performance over two seasons at West Virginia, the Seattle Seahawks drafted Irvin at 15th overall.
In his rookie season, he recorded 27 tackles and eight sacks and in his second season the Seahawks won the Super Bowl 43-8 over the Denver Broncos. Irvin recorded two tackles in the win.
The following year the Seahawks made the Super Bowl again before losing a heartbreaker 28-24 to the New England Patriots. His first tenure with the Seahawks lasted four seasons before he signed a deal to play for the Oakland Raiders in 2016.
His first season in Oakland saw him record 57 tackles and seven sacks. His tenure with the Raiders lasted two seasons and midway through his third season, he was released. He then signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons where he played eight games recording 3.5 sacks and 13 tackles.
Irvin played a single season with the Carolina Panthers before beginning his second stint with the Seahawks. There Irvin suffered a torn ACL that ended his season in week two.
Coming off the injury, Irvin spent time with the Chicago Bears practice squad before getting time on the active roster late in the season. In 2022, he had a final third stint with the Seahawks where he recorded 38 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
In his career he has 60 sacks, 626 tackles, and 16 forced fumbles between the regular season and playoffs.
Throughout his tenure at West Virginia, he showed his appreciation for the community and school that gave him a chance to revive his football dream.
Alongside Irvin, there were five other inductees. Trevor Gathman (rifle) who won three national championships. TeShawne Jackson (gymnastics) has the most perfect 10’s in WVU gymnastics history. Jay Jacobs (broadcaster) has covered WVU basketball on the radio for nearly five decades. Buddy Quertinmont (basketball) who averaged 10.1 points for the basketball team from 1962-1965. Renee Riccio (swimming) who qualified for three individual national championships.
