Rich Rodriguez didn’t spend much time pretending this offseason was anything but a full-scale reset.
At Big 12 Media Days, the West Virginia coach made it clear the roster has been turned over again, and this time the emphasis was on being more deliberate about how the portal was used. Rodriguez said the program had “a little more money this year” and “a lot more time,” which allowed the staff to be more intentional about finding “competition at every potential” and, as he put it, “Production, not potential.”
That approach showed up across the roster, especially at quarterback and running back. Rodriguez said Scotty Fox had been “great,” but the staff wanted another player who could push the position and “maybe take us to another level.”
That led to the addition of Michael Hawkins, whom Rodriguez praised along with Fox for being “really, really decisive with their actions.” He said, “I'm excited about those two leading the charge there.”
The same logic drove the move for Cam Cook. Rodriguez said the running back room was set to be entirely new, with no one returning, so the staff targeted a veteran who could step in right away.
Cook, he said, was “the lading rusher in the country,” had played in a similar system at Jax State, and had Big 12 experience. Rodriguez called him “a complete player” who can run, protect the quarterback and catch the ball, and said he was “the first running back target [in the portal] and we were fortunate enough to get him.”
Rodriguez also pointed to the return of a few veterans as a key part of the program’s reset. Those players, he said, have done a great job of reestablishing the culture.
Because of that, he said, “I feel confident we're going to be better all the way around.... I feel confident that we will be a lot better this year, probably a lot better than people expect.”
The offensive line is another area where Rodriguez sounded bullish. He said Nick Krahe was “probably our most productive and best offensive lineman last year,” and noted that when Rick Trickett arrived, the staff wanted to try Krahe at guard, which Rodriguez believes is his best spot. After a strong spring, Rodriguez said Krahe’s work ethic and talent make him “everything we want leading this program,” adding, “I think he'll be one of the best linemen in the league this year.”
There was also a specific mention of Kayden Luke, whose addition Rodriguez tied to the old-school fullback role. “Fullback kind of went away for a long time,” he said, and with West Virginia’s desire to run the ball, the staff wasn’t sure it had a true fullback. When Luke appeared in the portal, Rodriguez said he believed he had “a role to play [in this offense].”
Beyond the roster, Rodriguez addressed the financial side of the modern game. “You got to be able to manage your money,” he said.
“You're paying your players, so you gotta pay the right guys.... money helps solve a lot of problems. You can make a lot of mistakes if you have a lot of money, but you still have to make the right hires, the right play calls, etc.”
He also noted a major change from last year: “We have a full rev share now. Last year, we didn't have that.”
And when the conversation turned to the broader shape of college football, Rodriguez didn’t hold back. He said he loves the Big 12, but wants more regional matchups.
He floated a sweeping idea for the Power Four to come together, shake hands and create regional groupings with shared money. In his pitch, West Virginia could play Pitt, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Maryland, along with Cincinnati and maybe Virginia and North Carolina, all close enough for fans to drive to.
“I think that would be great,” he said. “I'm gonna put my pitch right now - I'm not speaking for anybody but Coach Rod.
He would like for all the Power Four teams to come together, shake hands and let's get the biggest TV package in the history of TV packages, and [WVU] could have Pitt and Virginia Tech and Penn State and Maryland, Cincinnati and maybe Virginia and North Carolina. All right there.
Fans could drive to it. Rivalry every year.”
He also made one other scheduling point plain: “We should be playing them every year.”
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Sitake revisited the moment during Big 12 Media Day and handled it with the sort of perspective that tends to play well in league circles. He acknowledged the mistake and made clear he respects what the song means in Morgantown, which is part of why the exchange has lingered beyond the original game. BYU and WVU are not on each others schedule this season, but the next trip to Morgantown is already on the horizon. [Read more 🡒]
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For Mountaineer fans, the encouraging part is that the praise went beyond polite conference talk. Yormark pointed to the schools competitive potential and the way its fan base shows up, which matters in a league that values both performance and energy. There is also a broader layer here: West Virginia seems to fit the Big 12s culture in a way that could matter again if the conference landscape shifts, and the optimism around what Wren Baker is building only adds to that picture. [Read more 🡒]