West Virginia’s roster picture may still have one opening, but Ross Hodge isn’t treating it like a vacancy to fill just for the sake of filling it.
After two offseasons of leaning heavily on the transfer portal, Hodge has made his formula plain: the player has to fit the way the Mountaineers want to play, and that starts with defense. West Virginia has used transfers to build out 14 of its 29 currently occupied roster spots over the last two years, and Hodge said that process begins with being direct about expectations.
"A lot of it -- not even some of it -- a lot of it starts during the recruiting process and being honest with those guys," Hodge said. "Obviously, it's no secret that we have a defensive identity. No secret that if you're going to be good in the Big 12 as a team, you have to be really good defensively."
That approach matters even more with just one spot potentially left to sort out. Hodge made it clear Thursday that if West Virginia does add someone, the staff would prefer to begin with players already in its orbit rather than bringing in a complete unknown.
"I think you'd probably look to start internally in that manner with players out of that pool that maybe you have some familiarity with, that have familiarity with you, before you kind of just brought in someone new."
Then came Friday’s development in Colorado, where a judge issued an injunction that makes forward Javan Buchanan eligible and creates a pathway for Brenen Lorient to return to the team. Whether that actually leads to Lorient staying in Morgantown remains to be seen, and Hodge also has to account for the possibility that Lorient could be tempted by another offer. The Mountaineers, for now, may not fill that spot at all.
What Hodge does know after summer workouts is who he has and what this roster can do. That’s why any addition would have to match not only the team’s style, but also its standard. Defense isn’t optional in his program.
"I think you had seven of the best 25 defenses in our league," he said. "So some of it, you're having those conversations with them, prior to them even making the decision to come here, that that is going to be a part of what they're being asked to do.
"And then if you're a player as an individual, they know that you're going to have to be able to be a pretty good defensive player to play at the highest level that you would like to play at. I think assuming there's a baseline talent, there has to be a baseline talent that can play at this level and play in the Big 12."
Still, Hodge isn’t shutting the door on the market entirely. The pool of available players keeps shifting, and the injunction means West Virginia could potentially keep Lorient, lose him, or even add another player because the NCAA is barred from enforcing rules about roster and spending limits.
Beyond fit and familiarity, Hodge is also watching how a player handles adversity. That’s another layer in the evaluation, and it tells him plenty about who belongs in his locker room.
"The thing I like to look at is how do they respond when things aren't going their way when you're watching them," Hodge said. "Let's be honest.
If somebody is out there going 7-for-7 from 3 and they're making every shot, then they're probably going to be a pretty good teammate. They're probably going to be pretty coachable.
They're probably going to be pretty engaged in what's going on.
"But I like to see, 'OK, what happens when maybe the shots aren't going in? What happens when their coach got on them a little bit?
How do they respond and react to teammates when things are not going well?' Those are the things that are attractive to me, assuming that there's a baseline talent that's good enough to help you win."
In Other News...
WVUs Quarterback Future Suddenly Includes A True Freshman To Watch
West Virginias quarterback room already has some moving parts, and the picture only gets more interesting when you add the youngest names in the group. Transfer Mike Hawkins Jr. and sophomore Scotty Fox Jr. sit atop the current discussion, but the staff is also working with three true freshmen in Jyron Hughley, Wyatt Walker Brown and John Johnson III, which gives the position a longer runway than it might have seemed to have a few weeks ago.
Among that trio, Hughley has created the most quiet optimism inside the building because of how he is progressing in the read and RPO game. The staff believes there is a real chance he can spend this season pushing for backup duties, which matters in a room where the depth chart could keep shifting depending on how each quarterback develops and how the transfer market looks down the road. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Enters Fall Camp With Key Offensive Jobs Still Up For Grabs
Fall camp opens Wednesday for West Virginia, and the offense still has a few of the most important jobs to settle before the season starts to feel real. The projected depth chart coming out of spring gives a decent outline of where things stand, but it also shows how much of this group is still being sorted out by performance, experience and how quickly players can make a case in August.
Mike Hawkins is the name to watch at quarterback, while Josh Sapp gives the Mountaineers a familiar piece to build around at tight end. Even so, several spots remain in play across the unit, and the coming practices will go a long way toward showing which spring impressions stick and which ones get reshuffled once the pads come on. [Read more 🡒]
WVU Fall Camp Centers On One Position Battle Fans Need To Watch
Fall camp opens Wednesday for West Virginia, and with Rich Rodriguez entering his second year back in charge, there is already a familiar summer storyline hanging over the program: how the staff sorts out the tight end room. Ryan Ward, Josh Sapp and Cam Ball are all in the mix for playing time, and the group has enough intrigue to make it one of the early camp battles worth tracking as the Mountaineers begin the next phase of prep.
There is also some roster uncertainty beyond the position chart itself, with the possibility of a few members of the 2022 class returning to the program still in the conversation. Nothing official has been announced, and this remains more about projection than confirmation, but it adds another layer to a camp that already figures to be watched closely as West Virginia tries to settle key roles early. [Read more 🡒]