Shelton Gibson Rips Cam Vaughn for Lack of Effort: 'This is Not Mountaineer Football'

Playing with maximum effort on every snap of every game is something West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez demands out of his players. You've often heard him say that when someone doesn't live up to that standard, even if for just one play, it's one play too many and needs to be called out on the spot.

Well, in Saturday's regular season finale, Rodriguez received a little help in that category, even if it wasn't needed. Much of the Mountaineer fan base was fuming over wide receiver Cam Vaughn completely giving up on a play after a ball that was intended for him was thrown short and intercepted. He continued jogging into the end zone while the play was returned for a big gain, all the way to the West Virginia 18.

Former West Virginia wide receiver Shelton Gibson was among those who were upset and voiced his frustration with Vaughn on social media, stating, "There’s no way y’all trying to justify this behavior. I don’t care what the scoreboard say. I don’t care what the season look like. This is BS every chance you get on the field treat it like it’s your last play. This is not Mountaineer football."

There’s no way y’all trying to justify this behavior. I don’t care what the scoreboard say. I don’t care what the season look like. This is BS every chance you get on the field treat it like it’s your last play . This is not mountaineer football https://t.co/o6tgTdxfxn
— Shelton Gibson (@sheltongibson) November 29, 2025

For some unknown reason, Rodriguez was not asked about this play in his postgame press conference, nor did he bring it up. Yes, it was 42-0 at the time, but that doesn't matter. There's a standard, and that standard doesn't go away just because the game is out of hand.

Simple things like this matter for a number of reasons. Firstly, it can create bad habits, and maybe next time it happens in a one-score game. Secondly and most importantly, it goes against everything Rich Rodriguez has been preaching since the day he got to Morgantown, and if there's anyone who should know what the standard is, it should be Vaughn, who played for him at Jacksonville State. He knows better.

Vaughn will be a key piece to this team moving forward, but it's safe to assume he may have to work his way out of the doghouse.

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