If one thing has been constant with the West Virginia football roster to date, it’s been change.
Since head coach Rich Rodriguez inherited the football program a total of 43 scholarship players have exited the program through the transfer portal and that total is even higher when you include all departures.
And that doesn’t even include the 19 seniors who departed due to graduation when Rodriguez took over.
To combat that, the Mountaineers have brought in 38 total transfers to date as well as 11 more players from either the junior college or high school ranks in a massive wave of roster turnover.
That number is far from finished either.
The spring was important in order to install some of the basics with the schemes but more importantly the coaching staff largely spent those 15 practices evaluating the entire roster. That was critical in determining which position rooms needed more competition and an influx of talent.
After 24 scholarship players exited the program following the conclusion of spring, the Mountaineers have been active filling those roster spots with a new batch of incoming transfers at various positions.
But out of those departures from the spring only two of those came from players that Rodriguez and his coaching staff brought to Morgantown in running back LJ Turner and tight end Johnny Pascuzzi.
In this win-now era, a head coach has to have the liberty to construct a program with the type of players that fit his culture and playing style and it’s clear that is what’s happening in Morgantown.
The goal is to aggressively attack adding to the roster ahead of when the team is able to participate in off-season training activities and before the start of fall camp. That has been evident with not only the number of commitments to date but the visits that are being taken to campus by transfer options.
The additions will be a mix of potential starters, others that can create more competition and younger players that bring talent into the rooms and can develop.
The Mountaineers have been aggressive at a number of different areas already in targeting potential fits such as offensive line, wide receiver, linebacker, defensive line, pass rushers and defensive backs. But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be other potential positions in the mix either.
The primary goal is to have the roster in place by July so Rodriguez and company will know what they’re working with heading into the 2025 football season.
The spring was productive for a lot of different reasons and there’s no question that the Mountaineers are in a better position than they were when it started.
But the only constant so far has been change.
———-
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
If one thing has been constant with the West Virginia football roster to date, it’s been change.
Since head coach Rich Rodriguez inherited the football program a total of 43 scholarship players have exited the program through the transfer portal and that total is even higher when you include all departures.
And that doesn’t even include the 19 seniors who departed due to graduation when Rodriguez took over.
To combat that, the Mountaineers have brought in 38 total transfers to date as well as 11 more players from either the junior college or high school ranks in a massive wave of roster turnover.
That number is far from finished either.
The spring was important in order to install some of the basics with the schemes but more importantly the coaching staff largely spent those 15 practices evaluating the entire roster. That was critical in determining which position rooms needed more competition and an influx of talent.
After 24 scholarship players exited the program following the conclusion of spring, the Mountaineers have been active filling those roster spots with a new batch of incoming transfers at various positions.
But out of those departures from the spring only two of those came from players that Rodriguez and his coaching staff brought to Morgantown in running back LJ Turner and tight end Johnny Pascuzzi.
In this win-now era, a head coach has to have the liberty to construct a program with the type of players that fit his culture and playing style and it’s clear that is what’s happening in Morgantown.
The goal is to aggressively attack adding to the roster ahead of when the team is able to participate in off-season training activities and before the start of fall camp. That has been evident with not only the number of commitments to date but the visits that are being taken to campus by transfer options.
The additions will be a mix of potential starters, others that can create more competition and younger players that bring talent into the rooms and can develop.
The Mountaineers have been aggressive at a number of different areas already in targeting potential fits such as offensive line, wide receiver, linebacker, defensive line, pass rushers and defensive backs. But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be other potential positions in the mix either.
The primary goal is to have the roster in place by July so Rodriguez and company will know what they’re working with heading into the 2025 football season.
The spring was productive for a lot of different reasons and there’s no question that the Mountaineers are in a better position than they were when it started.
But the only constant so far has been change.
———-
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
