MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Former West Virginia cornerback Jordan Scruggs has found a new home.
Scruggs has committed to Maryland for the 2026 season, he tells The Voice of Morgantown, just hours after winning his court case against the NCAA and being granted an injunction that will allow him to play one final season of college football.
It has been a long and unusual offseason for Scruggs, who entered the transfer portal back in January while his eligibility situation remained unresolved. Scruggs believed he should have another year to play and took the NCAA to court in an attempt to get it. On Monday, he finally got the news he had been waiting for: he will be eligible to play this season.
BREAKING: #WVU cornerback JORDAN SCRUGGS has won his his court case today and will be eligible to play this season.
Scruggs wanted to return to West Virginia, but the roster is currently full and he will instead transfer to Maryland. pic.twitter.com/QnCKibRcoz
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) August 17, 2026
And according to Scruggs, his first choice was to come back to West Virginia.
Scruggs wanted to return to Morgantown and play one more season for Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers, but West Virginia’s roster is currently full. With the season opener rapidly approaching, there simply wasn’t room to bring him back. Instead, Scruggs will head to the Big Ten and finish his college career at Maryland.
It’s an unfortunate situation for West Virginia because Scruggs could have been a huge late addition to the Mountaineers’ secondary.
The 5-foot-11 veteran played in all 12 games for West Virginia last season and finished with 33 tackles, 22 of them solo, an interception, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. His biggest play of the season came when he returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown.
Before arriving at West Virginia, Scruggs was a productive starter at South Alabama. In 2024, he started nine games and finished fourth on the team with 69 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and an interception. That interception was a 96-yard return against Appalachian State. He also previously played at Hutchinson Community College and Central Missouri, giving him a ton of experience at several different levels of college football.
That’s what makes losing out on Scruggs sting a little more for West Virginia.
At this point in his career, Scruggs isn’t a young player who needs time to figure things out. He’s played a lot of football, he’s been through the Big 12, and he already knows what it’s like to play in Morgantown. WVU’s official bio credits him with 35 career games and 20 starts, along with 135 tackles, two interceptions and 12 pass breakups.
Adding a veteran like that this late in the offseason would have been a major boost for West Virginia.
Beyond his ability on the field, Scruggs’ senior leadership would have been incredibly valuable for a Mountaineers defense that has undergone significant changes. He could have stepped into the secondary immediately, provided proven depth at cornerback and given the coaching staff another experienced player it could trust when the games start to matter.
Unfortunately, the timing just didn’t work out.
Scruggs fought for another opportunity to play college football, won that opportunity in court, and would have liked to spend his final season wearing the Old Gold and Blue. With West Virginia’s roster already full, however, he’ll now get that final opportunity at Maryland.
For Scruggs, it’s a well-deserved chance to finish his college career on the field.
For West Virginia, it’s a veteran defensive back and proven leader the Mountaineers certainly would have loved to have back.
