Rich Rodriguez has never been shy about finding an edge on offense, and last season he unveiled a wrinkle that fit his personality perfectly: the “heavy” package. The setup made its biggest splash in Week 3 against Pitt in the Backyard Brawl, when West Virginia lined up with nine offensive linemen and kept pounding away with Tye Edwards in short-yardage spots late in the game. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi had no answer, and the Mountaineers even went back to it in overtime for what became the game-winning score.
Now that look is part of College Football 27.
EA Sports has added the heavy package to this year’s game, giving WVU fans a chance to recreate the formation that caused so many problems for Pitt. In the clip shared by the game, the alignment shows fullbacks and tight ends in the spots where offensive linemen can be placed, and the expectation is that players will be able to swap those bodies around in the playbook. The point is simple: the formation is in the game, and it’s one Mountaineer supporters are likely to lean on often.
Rodriguez explained the idea last year on the Pat McAfee Show, and he made it sound like exactly what it was - a pile of mass meant to move people backward.
“We had about 3,000 pounds of beef going in," Rodriguez said on the Pat McAfee Show last year. "We did something similar to that the last couple of years.
We had eight, and I’m like why have eight when you can have nine? If one of the big fellas could run it, I’d have ten.
I actually asked those guys if any of them had played running back before. But they’ve been waiting to use that one.
We call it ‘heavy.’ Football is a game of big people moving other big people against their will.
So, I’m like, well, the more big people we have in there, the better chance we have. The formation is called heavy.
I could call it ‘fat,’ but they may not be politically correct.”
Looking ahead to 2026, WVU’s projected starting five of Carsten Casady, Nick Krahe, Landen Livingston, Amare Grayson, and Kevin Brown would already total 1,518 pounds. The rest of the offensive line room is listed at 325 pounds for Josh Aisosa, 308 for Aidan Woods, 307 for Deshawn Woods, 306 for Andreas Hunter, 306 for Devin Vass, 305 for Camden Goforth, 304 for Wes King, 304 for Cam Griffin, 302 for Rhett Morris, 292 for Malik Agbo, 290 for Lamarcus Dillard, 280 for Raymond Kovalesky and 275 for Trevor Bigelow.
In Other News...
Mike Hawkins Jr. Just Put Two WVU Defenders On Notice
Quarterback Mike Hawkins Jr. already has a feel for which West Virginia defensive backs could shape the coming season, and two names he singled out stand out for different reasons. Chams Diagne brings the kind of length and coverage ability that can change how an offense attacks, while Geimere Latimer has the reputation of a disciplined piece who should be steady in the back end.
For WVU, the intrigue is in how much more each player can add beyond the basics. Diagne still has to prove he can finish plays better in space and hold up against the run, while Latimer is being counted on to bring more pressure and handle a bigger share of the dirty work near the line. With the defense still sorting out its identity for 2026, those two may end up mattering as much for what they can prevent as for what they can create. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Finally Landed The In-State Addition Fans Have Been Waiting For
West Virginia has added a familiar name with real upside in Alexis Bordas, the Wheeling native who is coming home after one season at Duquesne. Bordas made an immediate impact as a freshman, averaging 15.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while earning a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie Team, giving the Mountaineers a local player who already arrives with proven production.
For a fan base that has been waiting to see a West Virginia-born player in the womens basketball program again, Bordas checks a box that goes beyond the numbers. She brings four years of eligibility under the new rules, which gives WVU a chance to build around her for more than just the short term, and it adds another layer of intrigue to how the roster will take shape moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Still Has One Running Back Problem It Did Not Fix
West Virginia spent the summer trying to stir some movement in its running back recruiting board, hosting several official visitors and hoping to chip away at a depth chart that needed attention. The visits brought plenty of activity, but the end result was more mixed than transformational, with the Mountaineers cycling through the usual recruiting churn without truly changing the shape of the room.
One prospect ended up at Houston, another came to West Virginia but fit more as a receiver than a true back, and a third briefly pledged to the Mountaineers before moving on to Auburn. Tylek Lewis is still out there as an uncommitted option, but for now the bigger takeaway is simple enough for West Virginia: after all those visits, the running back situation looks the same as it did before the June official period began. [Read more 🡒]