With the start of the NFL season just a couple of weeks away, former West Virginia standouts are preparing to make their mark.
There is a bundle of Mountaineers spread across the league, including a few rookies. The following will take an in-depth look at each alum, with the list sorted in alphabetical order.
Beanie Bishop Jr
Cornerback Beanie Bishop went undrafted in 2024 but signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bishop was in his first season with WVU last year after transferring from Western Kentucky. He led the nation in passes defended and received consensus All-American honors. So far, Bishop has ultimately impressed with Pittsburgh, getting first-team reps after being undrafted just a few months prior. The 5-foot-9 corner is currently listed as the starting nickelback and will look to make a splash with the Steelers in his rookie campaign.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton
Wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton is entering his second season in the NFL with the New York Giants. Ford-Wheaton signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2023 after putting up 675 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in his last year at WVU. The 6-foot-3 wideout missed his entire rookie season after tearing his ACL in the Giants’ week three preseason game in 2023. This preseason so far, Ford-Wheaton has made one catch for six yards. After fully recovering from his injury, Ford-Wheaton looks to make his way up the depth chart and find a solid role with New York.
Colton McKivitz
Offensive lineman Colton McKivitz was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers and is entering his fifth season in the NFL. McKivitz started all 17 regular season games for the 49ers last year and all three postseason games, including the Superbowl. Playing in his first Super Bowl, McKivitz and San Francisco would come up short in overtime losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 25-22. McKivitz is currently listed as the 49ers starting right tackle.
Dante Stills
Defensive lineman Dante Stills was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. As a rookie Stills played in 15 games for the Cardinals, making eight starts. He accumulated 47 total tackles (18 solo), including five tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Entering his second season in the NFL, the 6-foot-4 product of Fairmont, West Virginia is currently listed as Arizona’s starting right defensive end.
Daryl Worley
Defensive back Daryl Worley was selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers. Worley is now with his fifth organization, the Baltimore Ravens, who he’s been with since 2021. In 12 games last season, Worley made 12 tackles (8 solo) and had one pass defended. Throughout his career, he’s made five interceptions and has two sacks, all of which came in his first two seasons. Currently, the 29-year-old is listed as the third free safety on Baltimore’s depth chart behind Marcus Williams and Ar’Darius Washington.
David Long Jr
Linebacker David Long Jr was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft by the Tennessee Titans. After playing out his rookie contract in Tennessee, Long signed a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins. In his first year with the Dolphins, Long played in all 17 regular season games, making 113 total tackles (64 solo), with one sack, one forced fumble and a pass defended. In Miami’s wildcard matchup against the Chiefs last season, Long made seven tackles (five solo) in the game, including one for loss and had a quarterback hit. Entering his sixth season in the league, Long is currently listed as the Dolphins starting left inside linebacker.
David Sills V
Wide receiver David Sills went undrafted in 2019 but signed with the Buffalo Bills as a UDFA, before being waved by the team later that offseason. A couple of days later Sills was signed to the New York Giants practice squad. Last season Sills was signed to the Denver Broncos practice squad and is entering his fourth NFL season after not seeing much action in 2019 and 2020 with the Giants. In his career, the 6-foot-3 receiver has played in 16 games, making seven starts. He’s caught a total of 13 passes for 123 yards in his career. This preseason, Sills has caught two passes for 15 yards.
Devin Carter
Wide receiver Devin Carter went undrafted in the recent NFL draft and signed with the Carolina Panthers as a UDFA. Last season was his first with the Mountaineers after transferring from NC State. He played in nine games, making 25 catches for 406 yards and two touchdowns. Carter will spend his rookie season on Carolina’s IR, unless he reaches an injury settlement with the team after being waved/injury.
Doug Nester
Offensive tackle Doug Nester was another West Virginia player who went undrafted in the recent draft but was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. He spent three seasons with West Virginia after transferring from Virginia Tech, who participated in last season’s East-West Shrine Game and Hula Bowl. He is currently listed as the team’s third right tackle behind Brian O’Neill and David Quessenberry.
Geno Smith
Quarterback Geno Smith is entering his 11th NFL season after being drafted by the New York Jets in the second round back in 2013. Last season, Smith played in 15 games completing 323 passes for 3,624 yards and 20 touchdowns. On the ground, he added 155 yards and one touchdown. Smith made his second-consecutive Pro Bowl last season, playing in place of Patrick Mahomes who was playing in the Super Bowl. After replacing Russell Wilson in Seattle, Smith had a 30-passing touchdown campaign in 2022 leading his team to the playoffs. He signed a three-year $75 million contract after that season and is expected to continue to be the team’s starter going forward.
Kyzir White
Linebacker Kyzir White is entering his seventh NFL season after being drafted in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018. He played a season with the Philadelphia Eagles and then signed a two-year deal with the Cardinals last offseason. In 11 games last year, White made 90 total tackles (53 solo), had three passes defended, two sacks and an interception. In his career, White has made 478 total tackles (296 solo), with 20 passes defended, five interceptions, five sacks and two forced fumbles. He is currently listed as the team’s starting middle linebacker.
Marcus Simms
Wide receiver Marcus Simms was undrafted in 2019 and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was later placed on the waived/injured list, but was outright waived and never appeared in an NFL game. The last two springs, Simms has played in the USFL and the UFL. This past spring, Simms was a standout receiver in the UFL for the Michigan Panthers being named to the All-UFL team. In eight games he posted 426 yards and three touchdowns on 23 receptions. After a strong campaign in the UFL, Simms was signed by the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
Rasul Douglas
Cornerback Rasul Douglas is entering his eighth season in the NFL. He began his career with the Philadelphia Eagles after being drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He won a Super Bowl in Philly, played a season for the Panthers and then spent close to three seasons in Green Bay, before being traded to the Buffalo Bills last season. In total last year he had 61 total tackles (47 solo), five interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, three fumble recoveries and a sack. In his career, he has 383 total tackles (313 solo), 74 passes defended, 19 interceptions, three touchdowns, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and two sacks. He is currently listed as the team’s starting left center back.
Rex Sunahara
Long snapper Rex Sunahara was recently signed to the Cleveland Browns active roster. Sunahara was undrafted in 2020, signed by the Dolphins and later waived. He had a brief stint on the Steelers practice squad but was also waived. He was drafted in the specialists phase of XFL draft by the San Antonio Brahmas. After appearing in all 10 games for the Brahmas, Sunahara received an invitation to work out for the Steelers and was signed a couple of weeks after before being released. He returned to the Brahmas last season and was eventually picked up by the Browns.
Tony Fields II
Linebacker Tony Fields is entering his fourth season in the NFL after being drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns in 2021. Last season, Fields played in all 17 games for the Browns, making 34 total tackles (16 solo) and had a fumble recovery. In his career, he has 86 total tackles (47 solo), two fumble recoveries, one pass defended, an interception, a forced fumble and one touchdown. Entering the last year of his rookie deal, Fields is currently listed as Cleveland’s backup weakside linebacker.
Will Grier
Quarterback Will Grier is entering his sixth season in the NFL after being drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers in 2019. Grier has spent the majority of his career as a backup and on practice squads spending time with the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers on top of the Panthers. In his career, Grier played in two games completing 28 passes for 228 yards, but threw four interceptions, all in 2019. This offseason Grier signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. This preseason he’s completed three passes on five attempts for 35 yards. He is currently listed as the fourth quarterback on their depth chart.
Yodny Cajuste
Offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste was selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. Over the course of his career, he’s played in 17 games, starting five, all for the Patriots. After being waived by New England, Cajuste signed with the New York Jets last offseason and was later released. Last season Cajuste was signed to the New York Giants practice squad before signing him to a reserve/futures contract. Monday, Cajuste was placed on the injured reserve list by the Giants.
Zach Frazier
Center Zach Frazier was drafted in the second round of the recent NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a starter on the Mountaineers’ offensive line since he was a freshman and was a three-time team captain as well as a two-time All American (2021,2023). Frazier started for the Steelers in a preseason game Saturday. The 6-foot-3 product of Fairmont, West Virginia is expected to be the starter week-one for Pittsburgh after Nate Herbig suffered a torn rotator cuff, which will keep him sidelined for extended time.
