WVU is Considering Portal Options, Student Body Tryout to Fill Final Roster Spots

We are exactly three weeks away from the West Virginia Mountaineers opening the 2026 season against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, and yet the roster is not yet finalized. We can thank the NCAA for that, as always.

WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez has remained open to the idea of adding to the roster throughout fall camp once he and his staff gain clarity on those who could become eligible for a fifth year.

Earlier this week, they welcomed back tight end Jacob Barrick and cornerback Jason Chambers, who played for the Mountaineers last season, but only Chambers will be in uniform. During Friday's presser, Rodriguez told reporters that Barrick has decided to coach, so he will be in a GA position with the tight ends.

With Barrick not playing, it gives WVU another roster spot to work with. For the first time, Rodriguez mentioned the possibility of going outside of the pool of familiar faces, browsing through options in the transfer portal.

“There are others that, if the transfer thing comes through and you didn’t have to be in the portal, there’s a couple that played at other teams that are potentially eligible. But we really haven’t pursued it much because I think it’s so much gray area. They may approve the guys who return to their previous school, and not the transfers, but I don’t know. I think there's something that there might be a ruling on the 17th, which is Monday, so maybe we have some clarity then. We have a spot for one or two, and if we don't fill that spot, we'll have a student body tryout. We'll let them know next week, and maybe they can come try out. I've had guys that were student body tryouts that wind up starting."

Where could West Virginia look to add?

West Virginia University defensive line coach William Green | Christopher Hall – West Virginia on SI

To be honest, it's really difficult to pinpoint because there's still some uncertainty as to who will be included in that group of players that will become eligible. Regardless, the first group that comes to mind, and this is just pure speculation here because I'm not sure the staff even knows where they would add, is the defensive line.

Even with the junior college guys factored into the mix, this is a very inexperienced group that has a ton of question marks. Nate Gabriel and Corey McIntyre Jr. have played a good bit throughout their careers, but have never been in a full-time starting role. I don't see Zeke Durham-Campbell having any issues making the jump from Group of Six to Power Four, but you just never know. I mean, Jimmori Robinson felt like a slam dunk a year ago to be a highly productive guy at defensive end, and he was far from it. Just like the offensive line, you can never have enough bodies populating the defensive line room.

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