Quick Hits: Scotty Fox Growing Up, Next Steps, Offensive Line Progress + More

Rich Rodriguez discusses what he saw in the win over Houston and the next steps.
Nov 1, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. (15) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against the Houston Cougars  in the second half at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Nov 1, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. (15) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against the Houston Cougars in the second half at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez met with reporters on Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference. Below are some of the key quotes from that 30-minute or so session.

How the offensive line performed after watching tape

“We certainly played a little bit better. A point of emphasis has been coming off the ball a little bit better, and I thought we did that to some degree. Ran a little harder, blocked a little better on the perimeter, so that helped. There was a couple easy pass protection stuff we gave up on a couple passes. They want to be good. They’re listening to everything. The biggest thing for us last week for us was just that I didn’t think we were coming off the ball as good as we could, and we did a better job of that in the game.”

Analysis of Scotty Fox

“I thought he played pretty well, especially for a true freshman. He’s growing up. He’s taking steps, and he played beyond his years in the last two games. You wouldn’t think that he’s a true freshman that got thrust into that role. He was seeing the field, making good decisions. There’s a couple things here and there that looked like freshman deals, but he’s a really good competitor. I’ve said since August, he might be the most talented from an arm strength, arm talent (standpoint) that we have on the roster. He made some next-level throws in that game.”

Keeping players bought in during disappointing season

“It’s harder now. I think most coaches would tell you every week it’s a battle. When you set the culture and it’s really set in, you don’t have to worry about that; it’s going to take care of itself. It’s taking us a lot longer than what we wanted to get it there, but there wasn’t really a total in the bad area. A couple weeks ago, the Central Florida game, I was upset because we didn’t not just play well, but I didn’t think our effort was to the standard which we expect. The last couple weeks it has been.”

The next step for Scotty Fox

“He’s still learning about seeing the whole field. He’s really sharp, he’s a true freshman, but when you can anticipate the checks or anticipate maybe what the next call’s going to be or anticipate the adjustment we’re going to make on a certain route, then you know he’s getting it. That part of it, it usually takes a guy a year or two to get that down.”

How what Scotty Fox does these next three games changes the approach in the portal for the offseason

“It’s every position. In a couple of weeks, we have an open date, and we’re going to evaluate the whole roster because signing day for high school guys is the first Wednesday in December. We don’t have a whole lot of time after our last game to get ready for that. During the open date, we’re going to have a deep dive of everybody at every position that’s currently on the team and how we think about it moving forward.”

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.

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