Rich Rodriguez Sees a Major Difference in WVU's Depth Chart From a Year Ago

Oh, how much things can change in a year's time. West Virginia is experiencing significant change to the roster once again, but this time around, they have more players on the roster who have been around the block and played in several meaningful games throughout their respective careers.

Logging all of those snaps has helped this team come together and make progress throughout the preseason, giving WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez belief that they are in a much better spot entering the new season.

"I think so, just from an experience standpoint," Rodriguez said when asked by Tony Caridi if he can tell if they are better now than they were a year ago. "Believe it or not, with only having a couple starters back, we’re still more experienced as college football players than we were a year ago. Guys that have started games — maybe it’s a Group of Five level or somewhere else. And so that was kind of purposeful in recruiting — find some guys that have played in college and have some experience, and I could see that in practice because fundamentally they’re a little bit ahead, but also grasping concepts. The freshmen coming out of high school have a harder time grasping concepts because it’s different. They’re in high school. The college guys have an easier time of that, and our guys have done a good job of that. But because we don’t have any preseason games, you’re still a little bit nervous going into the first game. We as a staff can’t overload our guys too much. We got to have them free of mind so they can play to their best ability.”

The major difference, specifically on offense...

At quarterback, WVU has three guys who have started games at the Power Four level in Mike Hawkins Jr., Scotty Fox Jr., and Max Brown. The first two have shown that they are capable of playing at a high level and fit this system. A year ago, Rodriguez was repping five guys at quarterback fairly deep into camp, not having much of an idea as to who would emerge. That's not the case this year. He knows Hawkins is his guy and Fox is the clear-cut No. 2 option.

At running back, well, how is the nation's leading rusher headlining the room for an upgrade? Not only is Cam Cook a talented back, but he has experience running behind a Rick Trickett offensive line and in a zone-heavy run scheme. Pair him with a talented trio of freshmen — Amari Latimer, Chris Talley, and Lawrence Autry — and you have a pretty healthy RB room, which is something WVU didn't have a year ago, literally and figuratively.

At wide receiver, the Mountaineers have somewhere between six and eight guys who could factor into the passing game. It's a strong top five too, with Prince Strachan, Jaden Bray, DJ Epps, John Neider, and TaRon Francis. Every one of those guys could have been the No. 2 on last year's offense behind Cam Vaughn.

The offensive line is the group that could see the biggest improvement with the projected lineup entering the season with a combined 5,079 career snaps under its belt, while the '25 unit entered the year with 1,948 career snaps. Hiring Rick Trickett was the cherry on top.

More questions exist on the defensive side of the ball, but even there, they have more guys coming back who have played in the system — LB Ben Cutter, DL Nate Gabriel, DL Corey McIntyre Jr., CB Nick Taylor and N/S Geimere Latimer, who played in it at Jax State. DE Zeke Durham-Campbell, EDGE Harper Holloman, LB Tyler Stolsky, CB Chams Diagne, FS Andrew Powdrell, and BS Kamari Wilson have all played a bunch of ball at other places, which is way more than Zac Alley had to work with a year ago.

Experience can only take you so far, but it definitely helps to have a lot of it. This is still a relatively young team, but they have more dudes who have played a boatload of snaps and started games.

Let's take a look at the two depth charts.

2025 depth chart for Week 1

OFFENSE

QB: Nicco Marchiol OR Jaylen Henderson OR Max Brown OR Scotty Fox Jr. OR Khalil Wilkins

RB: Jahiem White, Clay Ash OR Cyncir Bowers OR Diore Hubbard

WR (Z): Jaden Bray, Preston Fox

WR (X): Cam Vaughn, Justin Smith-Brown, Jeff Weimer

WR (Y): Rodney Gallagher III OR Oran Singleton Jr. OR Jarod Bowie

TE: Grayson Barnes OR Jacob Barrick

LT: Nick Krahe, Mickel Clay

LG: Walter Young Bear, Donovan Haslem

C: Landen Livingston, Carson Lee

RG: Kimo Makane'ole, Josh Aisosa

RT: Ty'Kieast Crawford, Malik Agbo

DEFENSE

DE: Eddie Kelly Jr., Devin Grant

DT: Edward Vesterinen, Asani Redwood

NG: Hammond Russell IV, Nate Gabriel

BAN: Braden Siders, Curtis Jones Jr.

MIKE: Reid Carrico, Ben Bogle OR Ashton Woods

WILL: Chase Wilson, Ben Cutter

N/S: Fred Perry, Chris Fileppo

CB: Michael Coats Jr., Jordan Scruggs

CB: Jason Chambers, Devonte Golden-Nelson

FS: Israel Boyce, Kekoura Tarnue OR Derek Carter

BS: Darrian Lewis, Justin Harrington OR Jordan Walker

Projected 2026 Week 1 Depth Chart

OFFENSE

QB: Mike Hawkins, Scotty Fox Jr., Max Brown, Jyron Hughley, Max Anderson, Wyatt Walker Brown, John Johnson III

RB: Cam Cook, Amari Latimer, Chris Talley, Martavious Boswell, Lawrence Autry, Andre Devine, Darius Morant

WR (X): Prince Strachan, TaRon Francis, Landon Drumm, Malachi Thompson

WR (SL): DJ Epps, Cyrus Traugh, Armoni Weaver-Bomar, Kedrick Triplett, Charlie Hanafin, Greg Wilfred

WR (Z): Jaden Bray, John Neider, Keon Hutchins, Robert Oliver, Brad Mossor

TE: Josh Sapp, Ryan Ward, Cam Ball, Kade Bush, Sam Hamilton, Xavier Anderson, Carter Zuliani

LT: Kevin Brown, Malik Agbo, Jonas Muya

LG: Nick Krahe, Cam Griffin, Rhett Morris, Raymond Kovalesky

C: Wes King, Josh Aisosa, Landen Livingston, Lamarcus Dillard

RG: Amare Grayson, Devin Vass, Camden Goforth, Trevor Bigelow

RT: Carsten Casady, Deshawn Woods, Aidan Woods, Andreas Hunter

DEFENSE

DE: Zeke Durham-Campbell, Darius Wiley, Wilnerson Telemaque, Brandon Caesar, Emerson Joy

DT: Corey McIntyre Jr., KJ Henson, Taylor Brown, Yendor Mack, Gabe Ryan

NT: Nate Gabriel, Jaylen Thomas, Will LeBlanc, Cam Mallory

EDGE: Harper Holloman, Tobi Haastrup, Jeremiah Johnson, David Afogho, Noah Tishendorf, Carter Kessler

MIKE: Tyler Stolsky, Ashton Woods, Isaiah Patterson, Troy Fischer

WILL: Cam Torbor, Malachi Hood, Ben Cutter, Cam Dwyer, Antoine Sharp Jr.

Nickel/SAM: Geimere Latimer, Maliek Hawkins, Miles Khatri, Emory Snyder, Jayden Ballard

CB: Chams Diagne, Jaire Rawlison, ChaMarryus Bomar, Rayshawn Reynolds Jr., Simaj Hill

CB: Nick Taylor, Keyshawn Robinson, Da'Mun Allen, Vincent Smith, Makhi Boone, Jayden Bell

The first thing that pops out to you in the comparison is...

Higher-end athletes. Way more of them on this year's team, and that's on both sides of the football. More length, more speed, more athleticism — just flat out, more guys who have a higher ceiling (and floor). I don't think it will take long for fans to see a noticeable difference in the team's speed and physicality this 2026 group has.

Add us as a preferred source on Google