West Virginia is trying to accelerate the learning process this spring.
While there isn’t as much urgency as there used to be because of the fact that coaches can work with players in the summer, especially in the month of June during off-season training programs.
But there still is an urgency to evaluate the current state of the roster.
But spring football still has an importance although that has been somewhat minimized.
“I have more of a sense of urgency to evaluate than I do to teach,” head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “The scheme has always been a part of it, coaches, most assistant coaches love getting into the scheme of it but the evaluation piece for us is more important right now.”
Rodriguez is a firm believer that good players still want to be coached and that’s something that he and his coaching staff will continue to do even as the landscape around them shifts.
This is the seventh head coaching job that Rodriguez has taken in his career and admittedly the first spring is the most difficult in terms of needing to learn new terminology and everything that comes with a transition. That creates some difficult, but necessary situations.
“I think every first-year coach will probably tell you their first spring is probably their worst because you’re still learning your players and every spring after that becomes a little easier even with all the roster changes last year at Jax State, we had 60 new guys, and half the roster turning over, it’s still easier because it’s the third spring and the returning players know how to do things,” he said.
But even with that there needs to be an urgency.
“It’s the first spring. I don’t want that to be an excuse. We still have to have the urgency to be ready but it still is the first spring so each spring after this should be easier,” he said.
Rodriguez believed that the coaching staff came together well, but he is excited to see what unfolds with the players on the roster this spring. There are some talented pieces in place, but now it’s about taking the next step and developing as a team.
“I think our guys are in a great mindset from that. That’s the important thing. If something is really, really important to you you’ll probably put a lot of effort into it,” he said.
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