West Virginia football is giving Wren Baker something he says feels unmistakably new.
The WVU athletic director said during an appearance on 3 Guys Before the Game that this year’s team carries a different vibe than the ones that came before it.
“I’m very excited. The team has a different look, a different feel," he said. "There’s a different energy and excitement, and you can even see it in Rich."
Baker also pointed to a moment he caught during one of the baseball team’s regional games against Kentucky. He said he follows a routine during games, usually stepping out of the radio booth sometime between the middle of the seventh and the middle of the eighth inning before finishing near the dugout in the ninth. During that game, he looked up toward the hill and saw a group of football players there, tarps off, “going nuts on Randy’s Ridge.”
The next day, Baker said he brought it up with Rich Rodriguez, who told him the players had been trying to get into the game late in the ninth inning.
“I always have a routine somewhere between the middle of the 7th, middle of the 8th. I will walk down out of the radio booth, and I make my way down near our dugout, and ultimately in the 9th, I’ll finish the game at the end of the dugout.
So I walk out, and I look at the hill for a second, and I see a whole bunch of our football players out there with their tarps off, going nuts on Randy’s Ridge. And so the next day I was talking to Rich, and I was like, ‘Dude,’ and he was like, ‘Oh yeah.
They were calling me in the ninth inning,’ saying, ‘Coach, can you get us in?’ He’s like, ‘Hey guys, it’s the ninth inning.’
Like you could have given me a little heads up. But I say that to say I think the culture they are developing and the culture with each other and with the state…I think Rich is doing a good job with that.”
That kind of connection, Baker said, matters. And from everything around the program, this group has been building it since it was assembled in the winter. QB Mike Hawkins Jr. has spent time with his offensive linemen on the lake and taken them to dinner, while the skill players keep working together and getting reps.
The buy-in, according to the source material, is high. There’s no ego in the room, and the players believe in Rodriguez’s vision. The next step is simple enough to say and much harder to pull off: execution.
For now, the 2026 season looks like one Mountaineer fans have every reason to circle.
In Other News...
WVU Is Moving On From A Longtime Helmet Look In 2026
West Virginia is making a notable visual change for 2026, swapping out the white matte helmet that has been part of the look since 2013. The new version will bring back a gloss finish, a move the program says better fits the current uniform design and freshens up one of the more familiar pieces of the game-day identity.
The updated lid will feature a blue state decal with a gold flying WV at the center, keeping the Mountaineers' branding front and center while changing the finish underneath it. The matte look is not going away entirely, though, since it will stay attached to the Coal Rush uniforms, preserving a style that has become tied to that alternate set. [Read more 🡒]
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Quarterback, running back, tight end, defensive line, edge rusher, cornerback and safety all remain in play depending on how the board changes, and that picture can shift quickly once other schools get involved or transfers enter the mix. A few of the current pledges are still likely to draw outside attention, too, which is part of the challenge now for West Virginia as it tries to hold the class together while also deciding whether the next move comes from high school recruiting or the portal. [Read more 🡒]
Several Former Mountaineers Just Reached Crucial NBA Crossroads
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Miles McBride adds another layer to the picture because his name is at least being floated in trade conversation, a reminder that former West Virginia standouts are not just fighting for spots, but also for stability. For Mountaineers fans, it is the kind of NBA summer that can change quickly, with one performance or one roster move reshaping where these familiar names fit next. [Read more 🡒]