West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez believes that analytics have a place in college football. But to a certain degree.
Rodriguez has learned some really beneficial things from looking at the analytics but he doesn’t believe that it factors personnel into the data as much as he’d like. That’s especially true at the quarterback position and what that player can or can’t do on the field.
“I think it’s more of a feel for me,” he said.
And to prove that Rodriguez made a strong claim if the Mountaineers ever have a fourth and short inside the opponent’s 40-yard line regardless of what the data says
“Check my pulse because I probably passed out on the sidelines or something. I mean we’re going for it 100-percent of the time inside the 40,” he said.
West Virginia will be pretty aggressive in their decision-making generally but Rodriguez also isn’t close-minded when it comes to evolving his offense. While it was difficult to get film in the past on things that other coaches were doing across the country, now it’s easier than ever due to the rise of social media.
“But about every day I can find something like, man, that's kind of a neat little concept or neat little idea. And I do think I have to remind coaches that,, hey, it doesn't mean you have to do it. And don't be afraid, you have to get used to rejection,” Rodriguez said.
The head coach encourages his coaches to bring forth potential new ideas although that doesn’t mean they will always explore them. The goal is to always be evolving.
That means not only taking things from other college programs, NFL teams and even high school coaches because of how many of them must work with roster limitations.
“So they can be pretty creative,” Rodriguez said.
Still, Rodriguez isn’t the type of coach who is going to have 20 different track plays but he wants to simplify things for his players to allow them to play as quickly as possible.
The goal is to find different ways to help him and his coaching staff grow as much as possible while also understanding what the players on his roster can do the best.
That makes common sense a key factor in all use of analytical data.
“So in other words, if you're a go for it on fourth one guy and you're backed up in your own 40-yard line, well, do you guys run the ball well? Do you have a big running back? Do you have a guy that's going to move the pile? You know, that kind of thing. That always plays a factor,” he said.
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