WVU’s Preston Fox is living his lifelong dream

By Zippy Zimmerman, RealWV

A Morgantown native, Preston Fox, achieved his life long dream of becoming a Mountaineer back in 2020. In the same year, Fox won WVU Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week vs. TCU, and in 2021 he ultimately would earn a scholarship after a stellar performance in the Spring’s Gold and Blue scrimmage. In 2022, Fox finally saw some meaningful minutes on the field. The Mountaineers introduced him into the lineup as their designated punt and kick-off return man. Fox was also used to add depth to the receiving room, and scored his first collegiate touchdown against Towson to cap off his 2022 redshirt freshman campaign.

Moving forward to this year, and Fox is now a vital member of the West Virginia receiving core, while also maintaining his responsibilities in the return game. Earlier in the season, Fox was announced as a nominee for the Burlsworth trophy—a trophy given to each year’s most prolific walk on athlete, and he continues to impress as a sure-handed wideout. For fans who are just now witnessing Fox’s talents, they may wonder where it all started for the young Mountaineer.

Fox grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia where he witnessed the heart and passion fans have for their Mountaineers week in and week out. The inevitable journey to become a Mountaineer started for Fox at a young age. He participated in his local flag football league where he was awarded the league MVP on multiple occasions. Fox’s father, Thomas Fox, noted “When he was in the third grade, he could catch a 50-yard pass in stride… normally that doesn’t happen until you’re 12 or 13 years old, but he could catch it over the shoulder at 50-yards, and I thought oh that’s pretty good.”

Fox’s success continued to the high school level at Morgantown High, where he had a combined 1,300 receiving yards along with 13 touchdowns in his junior and senior years. Fox was listed as a AAA First-Team all-American his senior year, and named First-Team all-conference on the defensive side of the ball as well.

As Fox continues on with two games remaining in the season – the last of which being a bowl game – he’ll look to continue to be a reliable option for the Mountaineer offense and special teams’ units. He currently has 634 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns under his belt this year, and has become a sure handed wideout for Garrett Greene when looking down field. Fans can expect a strong completion to this season from Fox, but the sky is the limit for this young Mountaineer and his role within the offense going forward.