MAILBAG: Long-Term Portal Bets, Ceiling & Floor, New O-Line's Potential + More

Good Monday morning, Mountaineer fans! It's time to crack open this week's West Virginia On SI mailbag.

From @jon_helman:

Q: Seems like a majority of these commits have a couple of years of eligibility left. Was that by design or was it just the talent that they acquired just happened to have multiple years left?

A: It was by design for the kids who were highly touted coming out of high school. I went into great detail about it in my Sunday morning column, which I hope you check out. I don't think you're going to see West Virginia compete for a handful of "top-shelf" guys in the portal who have experience. The veteran players are typically going to be overlooked for one reason or another. That doesn't mean they'll completely turn a blind eye to those guys, though. It's just that the majority of the once highly coveted recruits will be younger and a whole heck of a lot cheaper.

From @WVUJeffSpicoli:

Q: Another year with 80+ commits and transfers. Do you believe this is going to be the norm here in Morgantown? (Not saying it’s a bad thing, but it’s exhausting learning a new roster each year)

A: It really is exhausting, especially when it's happened in basketball for what? Three? Four straight years, too? The good thing is, it will slow down in a big way here soon. Attrition is inevitable, but we're not going to see it happen to this extent for much longer. That is, assuming both Rich Rod and Ross Hodge are winning. This roster flip in football was very likely to happen, believe it or not. Because of how late Rodriguez and Co. got here, they missed out on the entire high school ordeal and a good chunk of the portal. They just had to piece a team together, and as you saw, many of those players were just one-year roster fillers until they could get better talent. That's why I believe this portal class is good, but not special. The floor and ceiling for this group are higher, but there's a lot of work to be done.

From @trebaker22:

Q: 1. What is the ceiling for the offensive line, and how quickly can they get there? 2. Who’s most likely to be the starting quarterback?

A: Ideally, you'd like to be in a good spot heading into that neutral site game against Virginia on September 19th, and I do believe it's possible. Last year, Rodriguez had an offensive line coach (Jack Bicknell Jr.) who had limited experience working with Rod and had zero returning starters. Now, he's got Rick Trickett heading that group, who knows this system like the back of his hand, has two starters returning in Nick Krahe and Landen Livingston, and has two Jax State transfers in Cameron Griffin and Amare "Bubba" Grayson, who have played in this system and have worked with Trickett before. All that being said, I think middle of the pack in the Big 12 or slightly higher should be the goal for the unit. That doesn't sound great, but considering how poor they were in 2025, that big of a jump would make it feel like they should be up for the Joe Moore Award.

As for the second part of your question, I'm leaning toward Hawkins. I love Scotty Fox's game, demeanor, and potential, but Hawkins' ceiling feels a bit higher. I do not, however, believe this is going to be handed to the Oklahoma transfer either. He's going to have to earn it, and Scotty will give him a run for his money. I'll say Hawkins now, but don't hold me to it. We haven't seen him take a single snap in this offense yet, so really it's a blind prediction at the moment.

From @WVU_Sports_Fan:

Q: After seeing the transfer portal roster, what is your way-too-early floor and ceiling reaction????

A: If you're talking wins and losses, which I believe you are, I'd say the floor is five wins, and the ceiling is eight. I know the floor doesn't seem right because of how much better this roster is on paper compared to 2025's, but still, you're talking about 80 new players entering the program. To assume they'll get to six is unfair, whether anyone wants to hear it or not. If the quarterback's play is consistent, the offensive line improves as it's expected to, and the defense is average, they should go bowling.

From @MrEd315:

Q: In your opinion, how well did WVU do with portal shopping so far this month?

A: I really like what they did, although it may not seem like it with my in-depth opinion on yesterday's episode of Between The Eers. They addressed the offensive line in droves, added another young, dynamic quarterback with potential, and brought in some very intriguing, yet unproven players who they are taking a chance on, such as WR TaRon Francis (LSU), EDGE Tobi Haastrup, and S Jacob Bradford (LSU). Jax State RB transfer Cam Cook may be the only true "splash," but I think they did a great job of staying disciplined and not skipping steps. This group is the one that needs to set the tone and culture, and if you can find, say, 20 players from the high school signing class and a group of transfers that you can build into the future with, that's approximately 20 more than you have going into this season.

From @bobmadigan_wvu:

Q: Now that the transfer portal madness has calmed down, what do you think the storylines will be heading into spring practice in March/April?

A: The quarterback situation between Scotty Fox Jr./Michael Hawkins Jr. is the obvious one, but my eyes are going right to the offensive line. It looks improved on paper, but until we actually see it, we won't know how much better it is. Who starts at the two guard spots? Does Kevin Brown start at right tackle as a true freshman? I think those are going to be some fascinating battles to watch play out. Also, who steps up behind Cam Cook? He's currently the only back with Division I experience, which is a little concerning. And then defensively, do they have enough up front along the defensive line and at the cornerback spot to be competitive in the Big 12? That's a concern of mine as of today.

To participate in next week's mailbag, send me a DM on X (@Callihan_) reply to my tweet asking for submissions on Saturday, or place your question in the comments section under my poston Facebook.