The West Virginia Mountaineers continue to add more players to their 2025 roster, adding eight new players this week. Read more: WVU Football Continues To Add To Their Roster.
West Virginia’s Recent Roster Moves
The Mountaineers have made several moves since their Gold and Blue Showcase back on April 5th, See previous roster moves here.
May 5th: The Mountaineers would significantly add to their teaming by gaining six players to the roster. WVU would add running back Kannon Katzer, offensive line transfers Ayden Bussell and Donovan Haslam, Wide receiver transfer Logan Ramper, cornerback transfer Ty Crutcher, and JUCO defensive lineman Elijah Simmons.
May 7th: North Carolina tight end transfer Ryan Ward Commits to West Virginia.
May 9th: JUCO running back Cyncir Bowers commits to West Virginia with three years of eligibility remaining.
Kannon Katzer
Katzer previously helped Ferris State to a D-II National Championship this past season as the team’s starting running back. Katzer would play in 15 games for the season, rushing for a total of 1,128 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 8.8 yards per carry throughout last season. In last year’s matchup against Slippery Rock, Katzer would carry the ball 13 times, rushing for 165 yards and scoring one touchdown.
Read: WVU Drops Two Out of Three Against Kansas State
Katzer began his college career as a walk-on at Washington State, where he played in just one game in 2022. Katzer would then spend a season at Citrus College, where he played in 11 games, rushing for 975 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns. Katzer has one year of eligibility remaining with the ability to get a year back playing JUCO.
Ayden Bussell
Bussell is now the 11th offensive lineman to join the Mountaineers since the first transfer portal window of the off season opened in the winter. Since redshirting in 2023, Bussell made three appearances with the Tennessee Volunteers as a redshirt freshman in 2024.
Bussell is a native of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, and attended Mount Juliet High School. He was a consensus three-star prospect out of high school and was the No. 20 player from Tennessee in his class.
Donovan Haslam
Haslam comes to West Virginia from Austin Peay. He was a member of the 2022 class and appeared in 10 games as a true freshman. Haslam took a redshirt in 2023 and only appeared in two games. Despite only playing in two games, Haslam won the Governors’ starting left tackle position and played a total of 622 snaps. He posted an above-average Pro Football Focus grade of 64 and stood out as a pass blocker with a grade of 72.8.
Read: Around the Big 12: Utes Knock Wildcats Out of Title Race
Logan Ramper
Ramper did not contribute much during his time at Slippery Rock during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, as he only appeared in four games as a freshman and redshirt freshman. In 2023, his role began to grow as he appeared in 14 games, recording 32 receptions for 417 yards and scoring six touchdowns.
During the 2024 season, Ramper had 42 receptions for 748 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 17.8 yards per catch. In the Division II playoffs, Ramper would catch eight passes for 171 yards and score three touchdowns.
Ty Crutcher
Crutcher spent two seasons at the JUCO level with Dodge City Community College. He played receiver in junior college, catching 13 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in 2022. In 2023 he appeared in two games, making two total tackles before moving joining West Florida last season.
Elijah Simmons
Simmons had an impressive season at Garden City Community College as a dominant run-stopper. He recorded 21 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, and one sack on the season. Simmons appeared in 10 games last season.
Ryan Ward
Ward early enrolled as a true freshman at North Carolina for the 2024 season, he was able to maintain his redshirt by taking snaps in only four games last season. During his time at Rutherford High School, Ward recorded 85 receptions for 1,823 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also made his presence known on the defensive side of the ball with 139 tackles and 17 sacks.
Cyncir Bowers
As a freshman at Iowa Central Community College, Bowers had 155 carries for 1,008 yards (6.5 yards per carry) with 12 touchdowns. Bowers would also record 24 receptions for 363 yards and two touchdowns.
