Why West Virginia May Be More Active in the Portal Than Its Early Plans Suggested

Unlike last year, Rich Rodriguez and his staff won't have to completely depend on the transfer portal to fill out their two-deep in 2026.

They will, however, have a bunch of spots to fill with the outgoing senior class, much of which was replaced by the group that signed during the early signing period, but you still have players transferring out and some areas where WVU may look to upgrade.

For months, Rodriguez has thrown out the ballpark number of 12 or so portal additions, but I think he even now realizes there's a chance it could be more.

How many more?

That's hard to gauge with the unknown of how many more current Mountaineers announce their intention to enter the portal, but I would hammer the over if the number is 12.

A good chunk of that will be identifying bodies who can start along the offensive line, defensive line, and secondary, but they will also need to target at least one quarterback, a receiver, a tight end or two, and maybe even another running back. The remaining spots will be split between guys who can potentially develop into a starting role down the line and those who can improve the bottom half of the roster.

Just in the trenches alone, you're probably looking at six or so guys — that's offense and defensive lines. With everything else WVU needs, it's hard to see how they can check off all of their needs by only bringing in a dozen or so.

Yes, WVU brought in a massive high school recruiting class, but you're not going to be able to rely on a high percentage of those kids next fall. If you do, then you're preparing yourself for another long season.

Early on in the portal, WVU and everyone else will be competing to land starting talent. Once they get that sorted out, there may be some areas where they still feel uneasy about the depth, and take a guy who could be an upgrade at a backup spot, and perhaps it's another addition from the JUCO ranks.

The staff has a pretty good idea as to who will be around in 2026 and who won't, but the portal doesn't officially open until January 2nd, and some kids could have a change of heart, creating another spot to fill. And look, when you go 4-8, there's a ton of room for improvement. If you believe there's a chance to upgrade a position, you're going to do it. It's not how anyone wants to go about it, but this has become a transactional business.

They are positioned financially to be able to land top talent at positions of need, within reason, of course. They're not going to spend Texas Tech money, but they're going to be in a much more competitive space this offseason compared to last.

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