Spring Valley football well represented on WVU roster with Corbin Page commitment
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (BVM) – As one of the most successful programs in the Mountain State over the past decade, the Spring Valley High School football team has been filled with premier talent. That’s how a team can make the playoffs for 14 straight seasons, including two conference championships and three state title game appearances. This year’s team was no different as the Timberwolves senior tight end Corbin Page was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the state, the program’s second consecutive top state player.
With this vast array of talent, many college programs tend to recruit the Spring Valley program in-depth, but there has been no more successful in getting Timberwolves to sign than in-state West Virginia University. Despite the Spring Valley campus sitting in Huntington, home of Division I football program Marshall University, the Mountaineers have been routinely able to convince the talented players to make their home in Morgantown.
With the addition of Page, the Mountaineers have six former Timberwolves. Page was a huge get for head coach Neal Brown in the Class of 2022 as it makes three consecutive top in-state commits for his program. During his senior season at Spring Valley, Page played in all eight games, catching 25 passes for 429 yards and four touchdowns for the 9-3 Timberwolves, showing the 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end’s playmaking ability.
“Corbin is a do-it-all tight end,” Brown said. “He can play with his hand down, he can play in the backfield, he can split out wide. He’s athletic and he’ll be an immediate impact player for the Mountaineers.”
The state’s best play here. #TrustTheClimb pic.twitter.com/6V5UatjRzY
— Neal Brown (@NealBrown_WVU) December 15, 2021
Most notable of the current Mountaineers from Spring Valley is likely Wyatt Milum, the No. 1 West Virginia recruit in the Class of 2021 who made key contributions to the WVU program this fall. As a true freshman, Milum appeared in 11 of the Mountaineers 12 games and would eventually be named Big 12 Conference honorable mention, On3 True Freshman All-American and to the Athletic’s second team All-American squad.
✌️ Freshman All-American Honors@MilumWyatt #TrustTheClimb pic.twitter.com/jK5kbor5VX
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) December 8, 2021
In addition to Milum is junior guard Doug Nester. Nester transferred to West Virginia prior to last season after playing his first two years at Virginia Tech where he’d start in 17 of 19 career games. He would be a full-time starter in Morgantown, many times playing alongside former teammate Milum.
With the addition of Page, there is potential for the Mountaineers to start three former Timberwolves alongside each other on the offensive line with Nester at right guard, Milum at right tackle and Page at tight end. Coach Brown made note of the possible phenomenon during his early signing day press conference saying, “At some points next year in the future we could have a right guard, a right tackle and a tight end all from the same high school. For the people in this room that are from this state, I don’t know if that’s ever happened to have your right guard, right tackle and tight end all from the same school let alone right in a line.”
Neal Brown on the potential for Spring Valley products Wyatt Milum, Doug Nester & Corbin Page (signed today) playing alongside each other: #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/HmA9TDVYXe
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) December 15, 2021
In addition to those three, the Mountaineers also have a trio of former walk-ons from Spring Valley as well. This includes Graeson Malashevich who was awarded a scholarship in the offseason after winning both the Iron Mountaineer Award and the Tommy Nickolich Award. During his time at Spring Valley, Malashevich was named Gatorade West Virginia Player of the Year, West Virginia 3A All-State first team as a utility player and the Mountain State Conference Player of the Year as a senior.
Another offensive lineman, Bryce Biggs, also walked onto the Mountaineers after earning a three-star rating and being named first team All-State as a senior for the Timberwolves. He helped block for two-time all-state running back Owen Chafin, another former Timberwolves member who also walked onto the Mountaineers following his high school career.
It’s fair to say that West Virginia has benefitted from the Spring Valley program. Brown recognizes it.
“Spring Valley High School has been great for the Mountaineers,” Brown said.
Given the team’s strong play over the past decade, expect the pipeline from Spring Valley to West Virginia to continue well into the future.
