Northwestern cornerback Jaheem Joseph commits to West Virginia

West Virginia has added some secondary help out of the transfer portal. Former Northwestern defensive back Jaheem Joseph has committed to West Virginia, he announced on Monday.

Joseph is joining the Mountaineers program after entering the transfer portal earlier this month.

He recorded 24 tackles and three interceptions while appearing in 13 games for the Wildcats in 2023.

Jaheem Joseph signed with Northwestern as a three-star recruit in the class of 2020, according to the On3 Industry rankings. The Florida native appeared in only one game as a freshman in 2020.

As a sophomore, Joseph appeared in nine games, totaling four tackles.

In 2022, as a junior, Jaheem Joseph wasn’t on the field much. He appeared in only two games, making one start. Joseph recorded nine tackles and had one pass breakup.

After not being a big contributor early on in his career, Joseph had a breakout season in 2023. His three interceptions tied for the Northwestern lead. He also had 18 solo tackles, 24 total tackles and a pass breakup.

Joseph is joining a West Virginia program that is coming off of a 9-4 season in 2023. Expectations were not high for the Mountaineers entering last season, but they ended up having a really good year.

Neal Brown was viewed as on the hot seat entering 2023, but now the Mountaineers have some momentum heading into 2024. Adding Jaheem Joseph only adds to that.

More on West Virginia and the transfer portal

In addition to Jaheem Joseph, West Virginia has added some other talented players from the transfer portal.

One of those is offensive lineman Xavier Bausley. A West Virginia native, Bausley transferred in from Jacksonville State this offseason. He was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team last year.

Another potential impact player West Virginia added out of the transfer portal this offseason is EDGE TJ Jackson. The Alabama native was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection in 2022. He recorded 14.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks that season.

Jackson added 27 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last season, while helping Troy to an 11-3 record. He will now play for former Troy coach Neal Brown at West Virginia. Brown was at Troy from 2015-18 before taking over the West Virginia program ahead of the 2019 season.

West Virginia has a challenging schedule in 2024. It gets off to a heck of a start as the Mountaineers will host Penn State in next year’s season opener.