Between The Eers: Why WVU Can't Afford to Build Through the Transfer Portal

For West Virginia to be successful in football, it's going to come by recruiting well in the high school ranks. Some schools have the ability to buy their rosters through the transfer portal, but WVU is not in a position to do that.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez noted during his radio show on Monday night that they plan to sign a big class this December.

"We'll probably sign maybe 35 high school kids, which is a whole lot more than last year, but we weren't here this time last year, so it was hard to sign a recruiting class out of high school. This year, we're signing a big one.

For whatever reason, many Mountaineer fans were upset about this, thinking that Rodriguez would take the Dabo Swinney approach and completely ignore the transfer portal. That's the furthest thing from the truth. Rodriguez will do whatever it takes to get the best roster possible, but he knows the importance of building through high school recruiting. For one, it's cheaper, and two, you can develop those players for multiple years and form some continuity. The portal is a complimentary recruiting tool and should not be the primary approach to building a roster.

On this morning's episode of Between The Eers, I discuss why the high school ranks are going to be the driving force of this rebuild and why it should be that way.

If you haven't yet, please go over to our YouTube page, West Virginia On SI (@SI_WVU), and subscribe. You'll get a notification the second a new episode of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru GameDay Show, or Mountaineer Postgame drops.

Recent Between The Eers episodes:

Rich Rod's Slow Start vs. Curt Cignetti's Immediate Success

Harsh Grades for WVU Football at Halfway Point of Brutal Season

Can West Virginia Make the Tournament in Year One Under Ross Hodge?

Should Khalil Wilkins Be QB1 for West Virginia?

Football season show schedule:

Between The Eers: Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

The Walk Thru GameDay Show: Thursdays

Mountaineer Postgame: Immediately after the game

Recent Between The Eers episodes:

Football season show schedule:

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