Rich Rodriguez and the West Virginia Mountaineers are slated to improve this season in the head coach’s second season back in Morgantown, and it’s largely leaning on a roster rebuild via the transfer portal.
The oddsmakers like the Mountaineers at 5.5 wins this season, and whether the offense steps forward depends on how his transfer load, including Jacksonville State transfer running back Cam Cook (1,659 yards) and Oklahoma transfer quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., adapts to the Rodriguez formula in 2026.
In a recent visit with WVSports.com, Rodriguez opened up about the NCAA’s latest change: age-based eligibility giving student-athletes five years to complete five seasons in their respective sport, and eliminating redshirts and medical waivers entirely.
“I don’t think it changes your recruiting model,” Rodriguez said. “It makes it easier, clears it up.”
Currently, Rodriguez and West Virginia have the fourth-best class, including the commitment of four-star St. Frances wide receiver Carter Bonner in the Big 12 for the Class of 2027, according to the 247 Sports recruiting class rankings.
The rule change makes the job easier for a coach like Rodriguez, who can shift his focus toward an age-based clock versus a player’s potential to play more than four games in a given season without losing their redshirt ability.
It’s also simplifying the certainty around recruiting hyper-competitive positions, which as a football coach, you’d hope is every position on the field. It becomes even easier for a coach to pour resources into a player when the terms on the table; A potential transfer rule only compounds this change by enforcing a one-time transfer condition.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE MOUNTAINEERS
Rodriguez and staff are working to improve upon a 4-8 finish (2-7 Big 12) that didn’t crack the top-100 across the line of scrimmage. Defensively, the Mountaineers were 114th nationally with 30.8 points allowed per game.
Among 33 returning scholarship players, offensive lineman Nick Krahe, gearing up for his fourth season as a Mountaineer, is a key returner up front and a guy Rodriguez has managed to keep around through a tricky coaching change. Quarterback Max Brown, linebacker Ben Cutter and defensive lineman Nate Gabriel are three more examples.
The pass rush benefited WVU last year, and they’ve enlisted a handful of guys – Zeke Campbell from Coastal Carolina as one example – to keep that trend again this fall. It’s size and experience casting doubt on the Mountaineer defense, though, and stops will be like gold again in a Big 12 schedule including both Texas Tech and TCU.
