Rodriguez Teases Lineup Changes at WVU and All Eyes Are on the Offensive Line

Now that we're seven games into the 2025 season, it's hard to imagine West Virginia's starting lineup having a light bulb go off and become a competent group all of a sudden. The initial thought from the coaching staff was that the unit would improve over the course of the season by repping it out. Unfortunately, that has not happened, and we've reached that point where changes are needed.

No, these changes are not going to solve the offensive issues, but they will serve as a much-needed evaluation period for the coaching staff. By standing idly by and rolling with the same group, they'd be doing a disservice to next year's team. They have to figure out if any of these backups can play and where they're at in their development.

The one area that is expected to see some shuffling, barring all goes well in practice, is... You guessed it... the offensive line.

The two names you should pay close attention to are Donovan Haslam at the guard spot and Malik Agbo at right tackle. Both played a fair amount of reps in last week's loss to UCF and showed some things that give you some optimism.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez didn't name these two individuals, but did hint at some possible lineup changes earlier this week on his radio show.

"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."

This shakeup could also take place at wide receiver, beyond Cam Vaughn and Rodney Gallagher III, of course. Guys like Christian Hamilton (North Carolina transfer) and Jordan McCants (Jax State transfer), and Jarel Williams come to mind. We're also getting close to potentially seeing some true freshmen who have yet to play in a game. Starting next week, they can play the rest of the way and still be able to redshirt.

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