Building a championship-caliber team in today’s fast-paced college football landscape is no easy task. However, no one understands that better than West Virginia’s head coach, Rich Rodriguez.
With the Mountaineers in the middle of spring practices, Rodriguez has been candid about the team’s approach, especially on how to use the upcoming transfer portal window to fill gaps in the roster. Let’s have a look at his no-nonsense, aggressive strategies to adapt to modern college football.
Rich Rodriguez Addresses WVU’s Transfer Portal Strategy
West Virginia held its 11th spring practice on Thursday. Following the session, Rodriguez spoke to the media about the current state of the team. He addressed several key topics, including defensive development and roster concerns. He also mentioned how the NCAA Transfer Portal will be essential in shaping the Mountaineers for the upcoming season.
Chris Anderson of X (formerly Twitter) reported on Rodriguez’s candid remarks.
Rich Rodriguez says #WVU will hit the portal for “o-line, d-line, receiver, running back, corners, safety, and d-line (again). …. We got a long snapper and we got some quarterbacks…. the other [positions], yeah, we’ll be in the portal.”
— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) March 27, 2025
But which areas need the most attention? According to Rodriguez, the answer is simple—nearly every position on the field.
“We need to get some o-line and d-linemen, we need to get some wideouts, a running back, probably need to get some linebackers, a corner, a safety, and a couple d-linemen, kicker,” Rodriguez said.
The team even structured its spring practice schedule around the portal’s April 16 opening. He also talked about moving up the annual Gold-Blue Showcase to April 5.
One area that clearly needs reinforcements is the wide receiver position. That’s where Rodriguez admitted the Mountaineers are currently lacking the numbers necessary to run their desired offensive schemes.
“We literally don’t have enough bodies to run the way we want to run it. We’re looking at some guys, and we’ll fix that,” he said.
Another area of concern is the defensive backfield. West Virginia added nine defensive backs in the first transfer window. While those additions have improved the secondary, Rodriguez believes that further competition will only benefit the team.
“There are still some concerns there, especially with depth,” he said.
Overall, the defense remains one of the biggest question marks heading into the season. The Mountaineers didn’t return any starters from the end of last season. This has left a significant level of uncertainty.
Although the team has young talent developing, Rodriguez acknowledged that the current state of college football doesn’t always allow programs the luxury of waiting for players to develop.
“It’s just another item that I better accept as a new challenge and try to win at it,” he said.
Instilling a Competitive Mindset in the Mountaineers
The head coach emphasized that success in college football requires players to bring intensity to every practice.
“When you are talking about reps in practice, I’m talking about going against another guy in a different color jersey; I’m not used to being non-competitive in those reps, whether you are live or thud,” Rodriguez said.
“1-on-1s, whatever it is, I’m not saying it’s the end of the world if you lose a rep, but it ought to bother you a little bit. It ought to bother you as a coach. It bothers the hell out of me. It bothers me until the next practice.”
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Since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012, players have consistently expressed their desire to win championships. However, as Rodriguez pointed out, wanting to win and actually doing what it takes to win are two completely different things.
With the transfer portal set to reopen, the Mountaineers are gearing up to be one of the most aggressive programs in the country when it comes to adding talent.
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