MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The scholarship wasn’t there for Woodrow Wilson High linebacker Troy Lilly, but he sensed an opportunity at play football at West Virginia nonetheless.
This week Lilly become one of eight preferred walk-ons to enroll at WVU, joining summer workouts alongside the program’s more celebrated signees.
After making four interceptions and 117 tackles as a high school senior in Beckley, including 31 stops behind the line, Lilly emerged determined to make his mark in the FBS, despite lacking major-college offers. The 6-foot, 220-pounder understands he’ll begin as a scout-teamer facing long odds of seeing the field.