For Rod West the attraction to the West Virginia cornerbacks job was an obvious one.
The Mountaineers have a rich tradition and won at the highest level, while the fan support surrounding the football program is quite impressive.
Throw on top of that the fact that West Virginia is situated in a Power Four conference and the opening spoke for itself.
“Everything is in place here to get it done again,” he said.
While West didn’t have any previous ties to head coach Rich Rodriguez, it was a chance for the assistant to work with an experienced and successful mentor. West had been able to speak with a number of people who had worked with him in the past and all held Rodriguez in high regard.
“Obviously I can learn a lot from him. He knows what he’s talking about with a wealth of knowledge and wisdom,” he said.
West has quickly learned that Rodriguez is a very direct person and you rarely have to guess what he’s feeling or thinking. That resonates well with his personality and combine that with the approach that Rodriguez takes in practice and it’s been a strong fit.
“Coach Rodriguez says treat the next play as if it’s the most important thing in the world in that moment. I love that because it keeps you on your toes,” he said.
The opening also afforded him the opportunity to work with a young defensive coordinator in Zac Alley that he has come to know over the years and greatly respects.
The two first crossed paths during the 2021 football season when West was the cornerbacks coach at Appalachian State and Alley was the defensive coordinator at Louisiana-Monroe. The two then bumped into each other at the coaches’ convention after that season and were able to talk more about football and things each of them were doing on defense.
“We just kind of started a relationship there and occasionally would talk after the season. If we were playing a common opponent we’d just share some thoughts in terms of how we can attack them or how they might attack the same opponents in the past,” he said.
The scheme is multiple and versatile while including more variations than some other teams.
“But Coach Alley does a great job of breaking them down and putting everything in different groups and making it simple for the guys. So I think it's multiple. It looks like a lot more to the offense than we're actually presenting. And we do a great job of disguising pre-snap as well,” he said.
The campus and community also was attractive to West as it reminded him of his surroundings when he was at his former stop in Appalachian State.
“Both communities are hard-working, tough and passionate about football. The transition town wise has been pretty seamless,” he said.
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