West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez advised not to read too much into what unfolded in the Gold-Blue Showcase and that more roster movement was on the horizon.
“It’s not big coach speak, but I wouldn’t take a whole lot into anything that happened today,” he said.
Now, a few weeks later, it’s become abundantly clear that was certainly the case.
The Mountaineers have experienced an expected wave of outgoing roster movement since the end of spring with a total of 36 players entering the transfer portal in the spring window, including 24 of those who were previously on scholarship and one who had previously medically retired.
It’s an outcome, albeit unfortunate, that Rodriguez warned of multiple times throughout the course of spring practice as he advocated for a grandfathering in of those already on the roster in the expected roster shift down to only 105 spots with the looming House Settlement.
Rodriguez admittedly moved the conclusion of spring practice back a week in order to have time to meet with the players on the roster and give them an idea of where they stand on the depth chart. Those conversations clearly led to players that were either encouraged or decided to enter the transfer portal for a new chance.
Evaluation was the keyword during the spring, and this is the results of that in full view.
The spring window closes April 25 and on the positive side of things thus far only two of those players weren’t inherited by Rodriguez when he took over the program in transfers 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 roster movement will work both ways however and with the departures from the team it opens up more spots for the coaching staff to work to aggressively fill ahead of the summer months. That is a critical junction for the team as they will be able to participate in off-season training activities before the calendar flips to fall camp where the focus becomes solely on preparing for the season.
West Virginia has already been active in the transfer portal to fill those remaining spots and have already brought in some options that are expected to compete immediately. That will continue until the roster is where the coaching staff wants it to be at the key remaining needs.
Some of these additions are going to be potential starters, others will be to increase the competition in rooms that need it to put the Mountaineers in the best position to succeed. The obvious positions that have been targeted include linebacker, offensive line, defensive line, wide receiver, tight end and defensive back.
But there could be others as well, such as running back.
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 there’s still work to be done.
“But we can work with them a little bit this summer. Not like in this practice mode, but we can work with our players enough to get them ready for fall camp,” Rodriguez said.
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