Takeaways From the Gold and Blue Showcase

West Virginia held an intersquad scrimmage in the final spring practice on Saturday and you could see the Rich Rodriguez rushing attack was in full swing

West Virginia University running back Tye Edwards | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Morgantown, WV – The West Virginia University football program held its final spring practice Saturday afternoon.

Mountaineer fans were treated to some live football and considering all the concerns surrounding spring scrimmages, there was a surprising amount of 11 on 11. Head coach Rich Rodriguez seemed reluctant heading into the weekend to show much, yet he treated Mountaineer fans to a live scrimmage.

Rodriguez went into the stands and allowed a handful of fans to select two-point conversion plays. He had a little fun with it. If the play worked, the fan got a t-shirt. if it failed, the crowd booed.

West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on S

Overall thoughts

It’s hard to believe Rich Rodriguez has mellowed a little bit over the years. He, along with his staff, coach this team hard and that is not criticism, I believe it’s good for players to be held accountable in such a manner and the team seems to respond to it. The mistakes clearly frustrate this coaching staff, and the team made plenty on Saturday.

This is a rebuild under Rodriguez, which he has conveyed that message throughout the spring. He has also said this team will play hard and so far, they absolutely do. The competition has ramped up and the “hard edge” was exhibited on the final day of practice with a full live scrimmage. By my estimation, they ran around 90 plays.

There is no wasted time in practice, there is constant rotation, and hard hitting was on display.

West Virginia University head coach Rich Rodriguez | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Offense

In short, the offense is a work in progress. There are no official stats, but my count, there were at least four false starts, and the first came on the first offensive series. Taking in to consideration it’s the first time this team played in front of a crowd and they’re still learning the offense after 15 practices, probably not a bad stat due to the pace of the offense.

The up-tempo style offense may be the saving grace for this unit in the upcoming season. There are teams that run a similar style, but there may not be any opponent in the Big 12 that will play as fast as the Mountaineers, and it’s the first full practice session with Rodriguez back at the helm and they were fast, but they will be faster come fall.

The rushing attack will likely be successful with Jahiem White toting the rock. Although he dressed in full pads, he did not participate on Saturday. Running backs Tye Edwards, Diore Hubbard, and Trae'Von Dunbar all looked good running the ball.

West Virginia University running back Diore Hubbard | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

The offensive line will need size and depth. The starting five may measure up to the rest of the Big 12 right now, but they still may be the smallest in the league by a slim margin. Of course, Rodriguez has emphasized depth all spring across all positions and the line of scrimmage has been a point of emphasis. The coaching staff has said they will look to the transfer portal to fill their needs. The pace of the offense may counter any concerns.

The quarterbacks got plenty of repetitions, albeit a limited playbook. Nicco Marchiol and Jaylen Henderson proved they are willing runners in the running game, but the duo did not get to fully showcase their skills with two hand touch rules on the quarterback in place. There were plenty of times they could have had a long run but were called down that looked like broken tackles. Meanwhile, backup Max Brown looked good due to full contact on the backups.

The passing game was clearly restricted, but you can see the threat of an air attack potentially complementing the running game. The scrimmage started with a pass down field to Cam Vaugh and the Jacksonville State transfer won the battle against Key'on Washington for a first down. Jaden Bray did take the field but was limited.

Defense

West Virginia University safeties Jordan Walker (4) and Fred Perry make the tackle on receiver Cyrus Traugh (86) | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

Zac Alley has an aggressive style and its shows. This unit flies around and they hit hard. Like the offense, they appear to be undersized. Again, upfront, the ones may be the size you need to compete in the league, but it appears to drop down the depth chart.

Linebackers look to have some athleticism. Redshirt freshman Rickey Williams has the size and athleticism to compete for a spot at the top of the depth chart with Ben Cutter and Reid Carrico.

The defensive backs are physical and quite frankly it's tough to judge coverage without knowing the quality of receivers they were going up against and vice versa. The defensive backs, for the most part, were locked on to the receivers. Was it good coverage or the receivers behind in the passing attack? It's a question we may not have an answer till about the first weekend of October.

Who Won?

West Virginia University safety William Davis (49) and defensive lineman Brandon Caesar (98) converge on quarterback Scott Dean (12). | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

The scrimmage was set up as offense versus defense. The defense did not score a point. However, they did get an interception, held the offense on third and fourth down, forced multiple fumbles, but were not awarded any points.

This is a tough decision because the offense did move the ball but stalled in the red zone. So, I'll give a slight nod to the defense.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

Former West Virginia Forward Amani Hansberry Chooses Transfer Destination

Former WVU Linebacker Accepts First College Head Coaching Job

Highlights and Evaluation of New West Virginia Quarterback Commit Jyron Hughley

Ross Hodge's Contract Details + Buyout Revealed