Submitted photo Former LSU receiver TaRon Francis was a 4-star recruit in high school.

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia football’s wide receiver room from 2025 was completely overhauled in 2026. The only starter brought back was Jaden Bray, and Bray only played a game and a half after suffering a season-ending injury. Bray is back for 2026 and the leader of the room, according to Rodriguez.

With Bray being the only returning starter, WVU had to make a lot of noise in the transfer portal, and arguably its biggest splash was former LSU receiver TaRon Francis, who was a 4-star recruit in high school. The hype around Francis’ decision to pick the Mountaineers was up there with running back Cam Cook because Francis was a highly sought-after high school recruit and has a lot of eligibility left.

Francis is now in Morgantown, but was a little banged up to start the spring. His first practice was practice No. 5. After practicing fully, with only three practices left, the staff is pleased with what they saw from their big-time transfer.

“He’s a big physical guy,” Rodriguez said. “Great running skills. We’ll find ways to get him involved.”

Francis is 6-foot-1 and 207 pounds, according to the WVU online roster. He has a full beard, and on his social media is nicknamed the “Manchild.” Wide receiver coach Ryan Garrett sees him at practice and can’t believe he’s 20 years old because he looks like he’s been in college for a couple of years now.

“TaRon has been good,” Garrett said. “I have to remind myself that he’s only 20 years old. He had his freshman year at LSU, and that was it. If you see him, he looks like a grown man. There are times when I have to remind myself he’s still young, or maybe certain things that he hasn’t been taught yet, but he’s coming along well.”

Francis will be expected to do a lot this fall, even if he’s new. He wasn’t really used at all in his first year with the Tigers, and with the coaching change, there were a lot of reasons to head to WVU. With the hype, he’s expected to produce.

One of the ways Francis will be utilized will be in the slot. Rodriguez mentioned his name while listing out who’d been practicing in the slot. He also listed Armoni Weaver, D.J. Epps, Charlie Hanafin and Greg Wilfred as the others. Francis is the tallest out of the bunch.

“He can do it all,” Garrett said. “I think from a skill set, he can definitely do those things. With him being a new guy, we’ve got to catch him up from the playbook standpoint. Get him ready to do those things, too. He’s attacking it, he’s trying to do that. You look back at the kid’s film in high school, he even played some running back, which is something we were attracted to. We feel like he can do a lot.”

Garrett talked about what was required of a slot receiver. They need to be fast and agile, and Francis has those traits.

“We use the word ‘phone booth guys,’ where you couldn’t touch them in the phone booth,” Garrett said. “They’re really, really shifty, those guys are primarily playing that position.”

Francis will also be asked to play on the outside, too. Rodriguez said if everything goes according to plan and the coaches do their job, inside receivers can play outside and vice versa. The team is simplifying the position so that the transition is a bit easier.

Whether that’s in the slot or out wide, Francis will be on the field in some capacity in the fall. That’s what was expected of him when he announced his commitment to WVU, even as a redshirt freshman.

Francis still has time to grow and be a difference-maker for the Mountaineers in a position that needs some help with so much turnover.

“He’s going to be asked to do a lot of different things, and I think he has the ability to help us in a lot of ways,” Garrett said. “Just want to continue to challenge him to grow and be able to help us wherever he can, and he’s been willing to do that so far. Excited for his future.”