Three Bold Predictions for WVU Football Fall Camp

Predicting a few things we could see over the next month of practice.

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Fall camp will get underway on Wednesday for the West Virginia Mountaineers, marking the official start of year two in Rich Rodriguez's second tenure as the head man in Morgantown.

A lot can happen over the next month or so leading up to kickoff against Coastal Carolina, and today, I've got a few bold predictions for what we will see/hear ahead of Week 1. Keep in mind, these are things I think could happen and not necessarily things that will happen, hence the term bold predictions.

Rich Rod publicly names Mike Hawkins Jr. QB1 before game week

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The bold prediction here isn't the decision, of course. It's the timing. Rich Rodriguez has already made this decision, but he isn't one who's willing to just run to the media and let everyone know unless you ask him directly, which those at Big 12 media day failed to do. Odds are Rodriguez lets it out 30 minutes before kick, just like he did last year, but I have a hunch that we'll hear him say it much sooner. There is no reason to really hide anything when it's pretty universally known.

A tight end not named Ryan Ward wins the starting job

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I think just about everyone, myself included, assumes that Ryan Ward will be TE1 for the start of the season. He is the one who has been here the longest, played games in the system, and has earned the trust of the coaching staff. But as I've stated all offseason long, I think all three of the top options here, Clemson transfer Josh Sapp, Mississippi State transfer Cam Ball, and Ward, will see time and potentially have a fairly equal divide of snaps.

I'm not sure who will come out on top, but I think both Sapp and Ball have a chance to win this job. Sapp is built like a big wide receiver and is probably the best pass-catcher of the trio, and Ball presents Hawkins with a massive target over the middle of the field and in the red zone, standing in at 6-foot-7.

No further additions to the roster

West Virginia University safety Fred Perry | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

With the recent injunction granted to every member of the 2022 class, the Mountaineers could welcome back guys like N/S Fred Perry, DL Eddie Kelly Jr., TE Jacob Barrick, and P Oliver Straw.

Knowing how Rich Rod operates, he is always looking for ways to improve the roster and add depth when he can, so seeing them bring one or more of these guys back wouldn't be a big surprise. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say no additions are made.

They have their punter in Bryan Hansen, they have three playable bodies at tight end, and are pretty comfortable with their options at nickel/sam. Sure, adding any of these guys creates an iron-sharpens-iron situation, but I'm just not sure there is truly a need for any of them outside of Eddie Kelly Jr., who could certainly help bolster the depth of the defensive line.

Again, I'm not saying Fred Perry wouldn't help this defense. He would. But with Geimere Latimer, Maliek Hawkins, and Andrew Powdrell all able to play there, plus the configuration of the safety spots, I'm not sure where you put him. If he does return, it would be a good problem to have, though.