There are certainly challenges in this new environment when it comes to not only constructing a roster but perhaps more importantly establishing a culture.
It’s a challenge that head coach Rich Rodriguez understands all too well, but the choices are either adapt with the times or force being left behind.
“The goalposts have certainly moved a long way, and you have to adapt to it,” Rodriguez said on the College GameDay podcast. “You just throw your hands up. This is really hard to build a program when you have open free agency every year.”
Currently college football has two separate transfer portal windows one in the winter and then another in the spring. With Rodriguez coming on board in December it’s led to a massive shift in the construction of the roster with players cycling both in and out of the program.
In total when you include the 12 true freshmen that were signed under the previous coaching staff, the Mountaineers will have a total of 76 new players for this coming season. The bulk of those additions have come from the transfer market with several junior college and freshmen sprinkled in as well.
And that is where it becomes difficult to establish a culture with so many players coming in and out of the program at any given time.
“Everybody uses that word, ‘culture,’ but do they live it every day? Do they adhere to it in the way they go acquire players, develop players, build their roster. And that’s one thing I said from the start,” Rodriguez said.
And that is where Rodriguez believes that he can still put together the best culture possible given the fact that it’s such an emphasis in how he has gone about constructing the roster.
“We’re not going to have in the pre-rev share all the money – maybe somebody else does – but we can still have the best culture. And you have to adhere to that, and you have to be disciplined enough that this is how you’re going to pay your guys, this is how you’re going to run your team, this is your salary cap, and everybody’s got to understand that,” Rodriguez said.
To reach that Rodriguez believes that honesty and openness with the players is critical and that way to foundation of the culture can be instilled not only for the coming season but in following years.
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