While Geno Smith is the odds-on favorite to take over at quarterback, coach Bill Stewart knows he has a winner on deck.

Maybe two.

Quarterback Barry Brunetti is the star of the latest Mountaineer recruiting class.

In all, the Mountaineers inked 19 recruits Wednesday on National Signing Day. According to rivals.com West Virginia had the 19th best recruiting class in the nation.

Brunetti, a 6-foot, 207-pounder out of Memphis University High in Memphis, Tenn., was a two-time first-team all-stater and led his school to back-to-back 13-0 seasons and state titles as a junior and a senior.

He is rated as one of the top dual threats in the country by several recruiting services.

Brunetti finished his career completing 240-of-432 passes for 3,882 yards and 43 touchdowns and rushed for 1,660 yards and 39 scores.

He threw for 2,237 yards and 23 touchdowns with just one interception.

Brunetti was also offered by Duke, Louisville, Memphis, Mississippi State, Penn State, Purdue and Tennessee.

“Barry Brunetti is a Parade All-American, tremendous football player and a state champ,” Stewart said. “You can read all you want about Barry Brunetti, but he has not lost a football game that he has started in since the seventh grade.”

On top of that, WVU also landed Texas QB Jeremy Johnson, a 6-2, 175-pound Silsbee High product.

“When I went into Texas to visit Jeremy Johnson, I went to his school and it was just a great visit,” Stewart said.

“He ran a 10.6 in the 100 meters and had a 24-foot long jump. When we went to dinner (I bought mine and they bought theirs, just to have that out there), the waiter comes up and says, ‘West Virginia, huh?’ I said, ‘Yes sir.’ He then said he watched the Gator Bowl and that it was a heck of a story. The waiter said, ‘You know that coach (Stewart) played for Coach (Bobby) Bowden.’ I laughed and said, ‘Yes, he did.’”

Johnson, also an outstanding track athlete, was one of the top QBs in Texas, throwing for 1,687 yards and rushing for 621 yards and nine scores.

Baylor, Houston, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas and Vanderbilt were in on Johnson.

The question is, how did WVU land two top prospects, especially with Smith just heading into his sophomore year?

“They both know they’re coming. They’re both Elite 11 types of players and they also know we have an Elite 11 quarterback waiting here,” Stewart said. “When you can find three guys that want to compete for one job, those are three pretty special guys. Hopefully they all stay, but we only have one football. That will be great competition.”

Stewart did not rule out the possibility of a position switch, though it’s highly unlikely for Smith and Brunetti.

“Brandon Hogan is a good example,” Stewart said. “I recruited him and he was a great quarterback. He’s special. Keith Tandy was a tremendous quarterback out of Kentucky. Thank God they’re here because they’re our corners. That’s pretty special. Bradley Starks was a Mr. Basketball and had Mid-American offers and to get him out of Virginia was awesome.”

One of the most interesting signees is Ivan McCartney, a 6-3, receiver out of Miramar, Fla. He caught 37 passes for 747 yards and 10 TDs last fall. He was a high school teammate of Smith. He picked WVU over Miami.

Another player to watch is Bruce Irvin, a 6-foot-3, 235 defensive end out of Mount San Antonio Community College.

“Bruce Irvin is a big and explosive pass rusher,” Stewart said. “We are absolutely thrilled to have him. He was tough and we had to fight them off. He is probably the number one pass rusher in America.”

He led his team with 72 tackles, 16 sacks, 21 tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery he returned 96 yards for a score.

Mount San Antonio CC beat eight nationally ranked teams and won the JUCO national championship.

Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and USC also offered Irvin.

Other signees include: Travis Bell (FS, 6-2, 187, Belle Glade, Fla,), Dante Chambers (WR, 6-0, 175, Miramar, Fla.), Trevor Demko (DE, 6-6, 245, Kulpmont, Pa.), Michael Dorsey (S, 6-3, 210, Warren, Ohio), Qudral Forte (DB, 6-1, 190, Atlanta), Troy Gloster (LB, 6-0, 200, Germantown, Md.), Trey Johnson (RB, 5-10, 172, Richmond, Va.), Quantavious Leslie (WR, 6-4, 180, Hoganville, Ga.), Deon Long (WR, 6-0, 175, Washington, D.C.), Doug Rigg (LB, 6-1, 215, Oradell, N.J.), Jawone Snow (LB, 6-3, 230, Canton, Ohio), Quinton Spain (OL, 6-6, 330, Petersburg, Va.), Wes Tonkery (S, 6-1, 190, Shinnston), Marquis Wallace (OL, 6-5, 290) and Avery Williams (DB, 5-10 173, Washington, D.C.).

Of course, several of the class will get a look early.

“We need to upgrade our special teams,” Stewart said. “The quarterbacks are going to play. The receivers are going to play. I would imagine the linebackers are going to play. They all have a chance. Bruce Irvin will get an early look just because of his age. He played very well in the JUCO league, he’s going to have a chance.”

One name not on the list was Latwan Anderson, a highly recruited safety from Cleveland who had verbaled. He was reportedly set to visit USC this weekend.