West Virginia is past the midway point of the season, but Rich Rodriguez isn’t treating the depth chart like it’s set in stone.
There’s still room for players who haven’t seen much action to push their way onto the field, and Rodriguez made it clear that some of the biggest opportunities could come on defense, where the Mountaineers are still searching for answers.
“Defensively, we’ve got things to fix, but part of that is personnel-wise too, and maybe that’s moving a guy around," WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. "We’ve got three safety positions, and we’re still trying to get that solidified.
We got guys that can play safety and corner, and maybe we move them around a little bit, but I don’t want to confuse them and make it more difficult. We want to make sure we got the right guys in the right spot all the time.”
Rodriguez didn’t single out anyone by name on that side of the ball, but JaCorey Thomas figures to be more involved, and there’s a chance some of the younger defensive backs will get their shot as the season moves on.
On offense, the coach pointed to a few players he’d like to get on the field more often, starting with freshman running back Amari Latimer. Latimer logged his biggest workload of the year last week against Arizona, carrying 13 times for 55 yards and a touchdown while also catching three passes for 44 yards.
“It was good to see Amari Latimer get some playing time too. He’s a big, physical guy.
We’ve got a stable of running backs, unlike a year ago when everybody was getting hurt. We’ve got four or five running backs that I won’t hesitate at all to put in the game.”
Utah transfer NaQuari Rogers is part of that mix as well, and he could be in line to make his Mountaineer debut this weekend. Rodriguez said Rogers has spent the last couple of weeks learning the offense and working his way back into game shape.
Rodriguez also mentioned a pair of receivers he wants to see more of: Keon Hutchins and TaRon Francis.
“There’s definitely more guys, especially as the season goes along. But at wide receiver, we’ve got to get Keon Hutchins more involved, TaRon Francis. But they’ve got to show us during practice too that we can have confidence that they know exactly what to do."
Hutchins brings elite speed to the room and is likely the fastest receiver on the roster. Francis offers a different kind of upside, with the physical tools to develop into a high-level player down the line. For both of them, the next step is the same: consistency.
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Rich Rodriguez spent his weekly press conference digging into West Virginias defensive issues, and it was clear the staff has already spent plenty of time on the film trying to sort out what has gone wrong. He said he believes the players are capable, but he also pointed to a need for sharper coaching and cleaner execution, which is usually the sort of diagnosis that gets attention fast in a season where every fix matters.
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The larger question now is whether the balance of future spending will shift more toward defense as the staff evaluates where the biggest needs are. Rodriguez did not lay out the full details of individual contracts or injury situations, but the comments suggest the debate around how the program is investing is far from settled. [Read more 🡒]