WVU receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton among 2 prospects to meet with Steelers

Among the two players to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday was a wide receiver who had to make the short commute up Interstate 79 from Morgantown, W.Va.

Bryce Ford-Wheaton, a 6-foot-4, 221-pound receiving threat, and Bowling Green defensive end Karl Brooks conducted top-30 visits at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Ford-Wheaton started 32 games and played in 46 at West Virginia and finished as the school’s No. 12 career leader in catches (143). He also ranked No. 15 with seven receiving touchdowns and No. 18 with 1,867 receiving yards.

In these parts, Ford-Wheaton is best remembered for what transpired in West Virginia’s opener last season at Pitt. Although he totaled nine catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns, Ford-Wheaton had a pass bounce off his fingers with the score tied in the fourth quarter.

The ball was intercepted and returned 56 yards for a touchdown that gave Pitt a 38-31 victory.

For a tall receiver, Ford-Wheaton has plenty of speed as he showed at the NFL Combine when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds. That was the third-fastest time measured among wide receivers at this year’s event. He also had a 41-inch vertical leap that tied for tops among receivers.

Ford-Wheaton became a full-time starter for the Mountaineers in covid-shortened 2020 when he started all nine games and averaged 15.4 yards per catch. As a junior in 2021, he again started nine games and totaled 42 catches for 575 yards and three touchdowns.

In his final season in Morgantown, Ford-Wheaton led the Mountaineers with 62 catches and had 675 yards and seven touchdowns. After his big game — and big mistake — against Pitt, Ford-Wheaton had 11 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns the following game against Kansas. He cooled off after that and is rated by NFL Draft analysts as a likely third-day selection.

Because of the proximity of West Virginia to Pittsburgh, Ford-Wheaton might not count against the 30-player limit on such college visits.

Brooks, a 6-3, 303-pound defensive end, was invited to the Senior Bowl after leading Bowling Green in sacks in four of his five seasons at the Mid-American Conference school. As a senior in 2022, he had 10 sacks, ranking third on the school’s single-season list and giving him 27 1/2 for his college career.

Brooks started all 13 games last year while recording 18 tackles for loss, which tied for No. 10 nationally and 50th overall. He also broke up two passes and forced a pair of fumbles.

The previous year, Brooks accumulated 7 1/2 sacks and 12 1/2 tackles for loss.

CBS Sports rates Brooks its No. 72 overall prospect and No. 9 defensive lineman in this year’s class.