Rich Rodriguez’s initial tenure at West Virginia was fruitful. During his second time in charge of the program, he believes the Mountaineers can succeed in the Big 12.
Rich Rodriguez Talks Possible Big 12 Breakout for Mountaineers
Rodriguez hasn’t coached a game at West Virginia since 2007. During his initial stint in Morgantown, the Mountaineers had been on the doorstep of a national championship. Having returned to the program’s helm this offseason, Rodriguez has similar expectations, even if cautious about them.
Speaking with Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, and Rob Stone on “The Triple Option” podcast earlier this month, Rodriguez compared his squad to Arizona State, which surprised many by busting into the College Football Playoff last season.
“You know, Arizona State went from last to first last year, and we’ll be picked somewhere near the bottom,” Rodriguez said. “I won’t say we’re gonna be first, but it’s not, ‘There’s one team that’s just gonna dominate.’ I think it’s gonna be kind of wide open and probably gonna be that way for a couple years, so we expect to win and compete for the championship every year, including our first year. … The hardest year is the first year, but that being said, the Big 12 is pretty wide open, I think.”
Rodriguez also said he wouldn’t have relocated back for another stay at his alma mater had he not believed West Virginia could make some noise. He steered Jacksonville State to a 9-5 mark last season, earning Conference USA’s Coach of the Year award. Over two seasons with the Gamecocks, he went 18-9.
“We absolutely loved our time at Jax State,” Rodriguez said. “You know, we had transitioned from (FCS), we were having success, going to bowl games, won the conference, and all that. And so I would’ve been perfectly happy just finishing my career out there, but when this came open, it was like, ‘You know, we were close the last time we were here.’
“I think we can win a national championship. I hadn’t seen the facilities since I left, and they did a fantastic job with our facility. And so all the pieces are in place for us to have a chance to win it all.”
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Meyer asked Rodriguez what he thinks about his team at this point.
“There’s still too many unknowns for me to know where we’re at, and there’s so many guys who haven’t played,” Rodriguez said. “I mean, hell, two guys have started. Two started on the whole roster, so it’s a little bit of a different dynamic. But, the staff is in place. We have all the stuff that you need to have to recruit them.”
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