Irvin wants a fresh start

Coffeyville (Kan.) Coffeyville C.C. three-star corner Blair Irvin looked to have re-affirmed his commitment to Auburn after taking a visit for the Iron Bowl.

But something in the back of his head told him that he needed to take an official visit to West Virginia this past weekend.

It was a decision he's didn't regret.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback that's ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 47 player in the junior college ranks has decided that his future isn't in the SEC, but it's in the Big East.

"I don't think Auburn is where I'm going anymore," Irvin said. "My family wants me down there, but I don't think so. I expect to go to West Virginia. As of right now I'm committed to West Virginia. I'm still not 100 percent. But I'm pretty sure I'm going to West Virginia."

Irvin said he had a low-key official visit to WVU and the Mountaineers didn't put any pressure on him to commit. He said by the time he left on Sunday, he had a good feeling about where he belonged.

"We looked around at the academics and talked to the academic person," Irvin said. "We hung out at the hotel and tried to go out with my host for a little while. We didn't do anything because of the loss. I told my host that I understood that after taking that loss I probably wouldn't want to do anything either. I ended up talking to him about the team, and I asked him about the coaches and things I needed to know from a players point of view."

Irvin said he spent some time talking with WVU coach Rich Rodriguez, and he made it clear to Irvin that he could be a big part of the Mountaineer team right away.

"We just talked about how I could be a big help to his program coming up right now," he said. "He wanted me to be a part of the Mountaineer family, especially with them losing cornerbacks. Basically he told me everything I needed to hear for a player coming out of junior college.

"It's just a great opportunity for me to get away from my family. Not that it's a bad thing to be near my family, but they want me to stay down south. I'm about to get married, and so I have to get my fiancé's opinion. I have to do what's best for my 5-month-old son."

And that clean break sounds like something he really wants.

"I want to get out of here," he said. "I don't want to stay in Coffeyville anymore. I'm ready to get out and start somewhere new with my family."

Irvin, who has three years to play two seasons on the next level, had also taken an official visit to Kansas State on Nov. 16 and had offers from Auburn, Kansas State, West Virginia and Louisiana Tech.

He originally signed with LSU in the class of 2002 out of Patterson, La. He played AAA and AA baseball with the Marlins and Devil Rays before deciding to come back to football in 2006.

Irvin is a mid-term junior college graduate. He'll be able to sign with West Virginia on Dec. 19th, the first-day that mid-term juco prospects can sign a national letter of intent.