Rich Rod Just Gave WVU Fans Their Biggest Reason to Believe Yet

Rich Rodriguez knows when a team is turning the corner, and he's seeing it.

WVU Athletics Communications

For the first time ever, at least that I can remember, the WVU football team provided an in-depth, behind-the-scenes video showing all of the preparation that goes into getting ready for fall camp.

Some stuff from winter workouts, spring ball, workouts over the summer, and so on. It was a really cool way to show the growth of this team and why you, as a Mountaineer fan, should be excited about what's to come.

🎥 ALL-ACCESS: Offseason Program

An inside look at how the Mountaineers prepared for fall camp and the season ahead pic.twitter.com/7wW15xx83d

— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) August 10, 2026

About halfway through the video, head coach Rich Rodriguez gave the most optimistic statement I've heard him say since returning to West Virginia. And not about his thoughts on being able to win a national championship at some point. An actual evaluation of where this team is and where it's headed.

“I’ve done this long enough to kind of know when progress is being made. I know we’ve got great fans. I hope we can set a record selling season tickets this year because this is going to be a really fun team to watch. We’re fast, we’re athletic. I think you’ll enjoy these guys, watching them play, lay it on the line for the Mountaineers. It’s going to be a great season to be a West Virginia football fan.”

The culture is coming into form

WVU Athletics Communications

Assistant Head Strength Coach Parker Whiteman and Head Strength Coach Mike Joseph, among others, were featured in the video and talked about the culture shift. Whiteman, in particular, said he has noticed a big change.

“From the first workout until now, I’ve seen the mentality change. I’ve seen them expect more of themselves. But the biggest thing I’ve seen, and Coach Rod preaches it all the time, is the standard. They have set a standard for themselves, just based on how they act in here and how they approach the workouts.”

Even with over 80 newcomers, there has been an extremely high level of buy-in. They understood what they signed up for. Rodriguez's message to every one of the players on the roster when he recruited them was that they would be pushed harder than they ever have, and he has kept that promise.

“When guys go through hard stuff together, it bonds a team. It’s like the Navy SEALs. They go through really hard stuff, and when they get to the end of it, the people that made it they’ve bonded together because they go through really hard stuff together. Ours is not as hard as that. It’s not as hard as the Navy SEALs, of course, but we want it to be difficult. We want to challenge our guys, and when they’re done with it, they’ll bond better as a team.”

Personally, I don't think Rodriguez, Whiteman, and others would have said what they did in the video if they didn't believe they were on the cusp of something — be it contending for a Big 12 title or simply turning the corner. I'm not even sure they would have even done the in-depth video if they didn't believe in this group. Sure, the digital media team would have still put something together, but this felt like a message to the fan base, with that being — West Virginia football is back.