WVU Having Preston Fox Back in the Fold is a Bigger Deal Than One Would Think

West Virginia head football coach Rich Rodriguez has hinted at the team needing to add more depth at wide receiver, but no one expected them to do so during the middle of spring ball.

Last week, former WVU receiver Preston Fox, who announced his retirement from football in January, decided to return to the program for his final year of eligibility.

West Virginia University receiver Preston Fox returns a Cincinnati punt 29 yards. | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

“I got a call that he might want to come back. I knew about him a little bit. I thought he was out of eligibility," Rodriguez said. "I didn’t realize he had another year. He called me and said he wanted to talk about coming back and I said sure, so he came over, we met and I said I’d love to have him. He’s a good football player. I think all of his teammates love to have him and it’s good to have him. I think he’s a guy that can help us in all four of our receiver positions. He’s a smart guy. He got his second practice in today and he’ll be in full pads Wednesday.”

The former walk-on earned a scholarship after turning heads for the second straight spring in 2022 and became a key part of the Mountaineer offense in 2023, hauling in 26 passes for 368 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His offensive production took a bit of a dip this past season - just 12 catches for 131 yards - but where he makes his hay is in the return game.

Fox is about as reliable as they come on punt returns and has the ability to spring loose a big return every now and then on punts and/or kicks. Having a player like Fox back on punts is relieving. You know that if your defense gets a stop and forces a punt, you're not going to have a muff and more often than not, he'll make the right call on fair catches versus letting it bounce into the end zone. It's a massively underrated part of the game and one WVU won't have to worry about in 2025.

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