Is WVU Where It Needs to Be One Week Into Camp? Rich Rod Answers

Rich Rodriguez gives his thoughts on the team's progression.

WVU Athletics Communications

This time last year, it seemed like West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez came into every single press conference extremely agitated and somewhat hopeless. That's what happens when you have to throw together a brand-new team in a matter of a few months with very little money and very little time to work with.

We are nearly two weeks into camp, so it's still fairly early, but we're deep enough in to sense that Rod feels much better about this group than the one he had in 2025 — the luxury of having more money and more time.

When asked to compare how far along this team is to where they were at this time last year, he said:

“I was just trying to think about it myself. I was looking at our scripts from last year and this year and how we’re practicing, what we’re doing each period. I’m also trying to think, ‘Where were we at?’ Was I happy one week in? I don’t think I’ve ever been happy in 29 years one week in, two weeks in, four weeks in. If I look back at my notes like, ‘Man, I’m ticked off after week one because we hadn’t made more progress,' that would probably be the same thing I said 29 other times. I’d like to be further along right now, but if I looked at my notes, we’re probably further along than we were in the past. In fact, I know we are, so I can’t complain.”

There aren't a ton of returning players from last year's roster, but there are enough to help teach the newcomers the expectations for practice and what needs to be done. It beats last year's situation where everyone was new for the staff.

This Saturday, the team will hold its first of two scrimmages, which will give them some clarity on guys who are fighting for playing time.

“With so many new guys, we’ve got to figure out who’s ready to win with and create some situations where we put them under the gun a little bit and see how they respond the best we can," Rodriguez said. "Some of these guys, even though most of them are new, have played college football and started, so it’s not going to be that big a deal. Because they’ve played in college games, played in games on national TV, and big crowds, it’s not going to be that big of a wow thing that early in the season because they’ve been there, done that.”

Rich Rod will meet with the media again on Friday, but we won't hear how the scrimmage went until next Wednesday.