Big 12 Recruiting: New verbal commitments for WVU, Baylor, Texas Tech

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen picked up another verbal commitment for the 2013 class this week. (US Presswire)

West Virginia's recent struggles on the field apparently didn't hurt its ability to keep an important recruiting pipeline open, as the Mountaineers grabbed a new verbal commitment this past week.

OLB Marvin Gross of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Baitimore, Md., offered his pledge to attend WVU last week, according to Scout.com. A 3-star prospect, Gross comes from the same high school that produced West Virginia star receiver Tavon Austin and last season's top verbal commitment, WR Deontay McManus (who ultimately failed to qualify).

Gross had offers from Colorado, Connecticut, Purdue, Rutgers, Wake Forest and Washington, among others, according to Scout.com's profile. A pass rush specialist who reportedly had 31 sacks as a junior, Gross will start his time in college at WVU's "Buck" position, a hybrid defensive end/linebacker spot.

"I don't do a lot of pass coverage here, but I think I have that ability," Gross told BlueGoldNews.com. "I want to get bigger and stronger to take on tackles in Division I, but I do drop some in high school, so I know I can do it."

West Virginia now has 17 verbal commitments, according to Scout.com. Its class is ranked No. 29 nationally by the site, or fifth-best of the 10 Big 12 programs.

Bears get help along offensive line: The Mountaineers weren't the only program adding to their recruiting class of 2013, as Baylor picked up a highly sought offensive lineman from the Lone Star State.

OG Rami Hammad of Irving High School in Irving, Texas committed to the Bears, according to BearsIllustrated.com -- a Scout.com affiliate site. In doing so, he abandoned a previous verbal commitment to play at Oklahoma State instead.

That likely won't please Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, as Hammad held offers from a host of teams from BCS automatic qualifying conferences. Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Ole Miss and Texas Tech joined Baylor and Oklahoma State in extending offers to the 3-star prospect.

Baylor now has 20 commitments for its February signing class, which is ranked No. 25 in the country by Scout.com -- good enough for third-best in the Big 12 behind Texas (No. 11) and Oklahoma State (No. 19).

Juco RB offers verbal to Red Raiders: Texas Tech didn't shy away from junior college transfers last year, signing a significant chunk of its recruiting class from those schools. Coach Tommy Tuberville continued to go to the well this season, and it paid off this week in the form of another commitment.

This time, it was RB Rodriguez Moore of East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Miss., who committed to Texas Tech on Wednesday, according to RedRaiderSports.com. The Rivals.com network does not rank Moore, but Scout.com lists him as a 2-star prospect. According to Scout, Moore also held an offer from WVU.

Tuberville and company now have 18 verbal commitments for the class of 2013. Six of those are from the junior college ranks.

LB/DE to visit Morgantown: With plenty of holes to fill on a struggling defense, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has said his program will try to add several junior college players as well. One prospect in that area -- LB/DE Devante Bond of Sierra Junior College in California -- has set up an official visit for WVU's regular-season finale Dec. 1 against Kansas, according to JCFootball.com.

Bond doesn't have an offer from the Mountaineers yet, but that may come soon with the visit. A 2-star prospect according to Scout.com, Bond currently has offers from Fresno State, Kentucky, UNLV, Utah State and Washington State.

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Big 12 bloggers C.J. Moore and Patrick Southern, follow @CBSSportsBig12 on Twitter. You can also follow C.J. (@cjmoore4) and Patrick (@patricksouthern).