Sunday Morning Thoughts: Transfer Portal Whiffs Could Alter Rebuild Timeline

From the moment Rich Rodriguez was announced as the next head coach of WVU football, a feeling of hope rushed through the veins of Mountaineer fans nationwide.

After a long, dreadful six-year stretch, which is arguably the worst six-year period in the history of the storied program, there appeared to be a sense of relief from the majority of the fan base, knowing that Rich Rod would fix it.

Saturday's loss to Ohio took the air out of the balloon as it was the first time the Mountaineers had lost to a Group of Six school (in the regular season) since 2008, when they fell 24-3 at East Carolina in Pat White's senior year. It's been a long time.

There are glaring concerns all over the place from the offensive line, quarterback play, running back room, etc. They just let Ohio control the entire game, holding onto the ball for an astounding 40 minutes to West Virginia's 16. The Mountaineers lost at the point of attack on both sides of the ball, which should never happen to an opponent like this, even as talented as Ohio is — a team that is very likely to win nine or ten games.

How does this happen? I'm well aware that there are 81 new players on the roster, and it's not going to be a perfect product right out of the shoot, but losing the battle up front consistently against a team from a "lower" level is unacceptable.

For all of the support that Rodriguez had following the hire, I would have expected them to do better in the transfer portal, particularly along the offensive line. This was a glaring need the day he was hired, the day he had his first press conference, in spring ball, and after spring ball, yet they were unable to land proven, experienced talent there. And now, it's showing.

There was so much talk this offseason from folks believing WVU could be this year's Arizona State or Indiana, and I tried to tell those very people that they need to lower their expectations. You're seeing why I tried to warn you. When you have this big of a roster turnover, it's extremely hard to become one of the top teams in the country overnight.

That should never have been the expectation. However, losing to Ohio should not have happened. This is a significant blow to the momentum the program had, and it has already prompted folks to question whether West Virginia will ever be able to snap out of this poor stretch of football and return to being the team they all grew up watching.

I wouldn't go as far as thinking the Mountaineers won't ever get it turned around, but the timeline may need to be adjusted. The help of the transfer portal can certainly help accelerate the pace of a rebuild, but for WVU to get to where they need to be, it's still probably going to take three to four years because they're not going to buy big-time talents like many others will or have.

Now, this narrative could completely change in the coming weeks, but from what we saw on Saturday, it looks like WVU may have had a low hit rate in the portal on the offensive side of the ball. If that does end up being true, buckle up; it could end up being one of the longest seasons in recent memory.

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