Quick Hits: QB Situation, Possible Lineup Changes, Progress on Culture + More

West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez just wrapped up his weekly press conference and hit on a number of topics. Here are some of the highlights from the presser.

Playing so many quarterbacks this year

The quarterback thing... I've had one year where it was similar to this, and it's looking for an excuse or a reason why, but when your four oldest quarterbacks are all out or can't play and you're midway through the season and now you're down to your freshman, it presents a challenge. It's been a unique challenge, to say the least."

The most concerning part of last week's game

"Most of the games we've played, we maybe didn't play well, but I thought the intensity or the competitiveness was still there. This past game, it wasn't. Poor coaching from that standpoint, especially me, making sure our guys have a certain level of competitiveness every play. In that game, even early in the game, even before anybody scored a touchdown... that was the most surprising part of that deal."

If last week shows how far WVU is behind, considering UCF is in a similar spot

"No, and you're leading down a negative way, which is the exact problem that you have. No, I'm just telling you. I know where you're leading, and that's the problem. It's like, oh gosh, they're struggling, we're struggling. They're first year, we're first year. Yeah, we played awful, and they played better. We've got a lot of things to fix, but I'm not going to look at it in totality and say that we can't fix our problems and that we're that far behind them. You can think that way, but I'm not, and our players won't."

If the culture is in place yet

"No, I still think we have a ways to go. I never thought it was totally in. I think you have to play a whole season, but I thought we were further with that, and I haven't done a good enough job to get that to where we want to. I don't think it's that far off, as maybe it looks like. I'm still convinced we're going to win big and have great success, but it's not going to happen as fast as I want for sure."

What can be fixed right now

"By now, we know what we can and can't do well, and frankly, giving a couple of other guys a shot. We're not going to be insane here and try the same thing and get a different result, so there's going to be a few guys that have maybe been in a backup role in the past few weeks that are getting thrust into a starting opportunity if they have a good week of practice."

Update on QB Khalil Wilkins

"I don't know if he'll be able to practice all week, and that's going to be a hard thing, so he's questionable. He's another guy with a bright future. He'll work his tail off all week to try to at least be there in an emergency role or something."

Thoughts on the Coal Rush

"I don't know when it started, but it's a great idea. The coal mining industry in the state of West Virginia is part of the fabric of who we are and what the state is all about. I grew up in Grant Town, which is a coal mining community. My grandfather was a coal miner when he came from overseas, and my dad was a coal miner. My brother worked in the coal mines. Half the kids I went to high school with would go work in the coal mines. I have so much pride for the people that worked in that industry."

What QB Max Brown brings to the table

"He's got great arm talent. He's a big, physical guy, tough guy. He's a freshman in the system, so he's still learning. I like his competitiveness. I don't know if we want him jumping and try hurdling anybody, but we got to try to get him ready to play."