Exclusive: Rich Rodriguez Talks Roster Building, Belief in WVU’s Plan

PITTSBURGH – Rich Rodriguez has been working nonstop since returning to West Virginia, but he’s still finding time to enjoy his opportunity at redemption as well. Friday night in Pittsburgh at the fifth leg of the WVU Coaches Caravan he was able to sit back, relax and tell stories of the glory days, granted he did so as the pressure of getting a team ready for the season looms over him.

After Rodriguez was finished reminiscing about the Sugar Bowl and his humble beginnings, he spoke with WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti for a brief chat about the state of his current roster, what he will need to achieve during fall camp and why he truly believes he can win a national championship at WVU.

“I think our staff has done a good job. I think we have one or two spots left open, but in this ever-changing world of college athletics, it’s been really crazy. But I’ve said this many times. The goal post will move, we gotta move with it,” said Rodriguez about having to make tough decisions on who to cut and who to bring in.

“We gotta do everything we can to try to improve our roster every day, not every month but every day.”

Because it’s essential to have a strong offensive line to run Rodriguez’s offense, most of WVU’s work in the transfer portal has reflected that.

“I want to have guys that are good enough to win with. If we have 10 that are good enough to win with, we’ll play with all 10. Now I didn’t feel we had 10 at the end of spring ball, but I feel by the end of August camp, we can have 10,” explained Rodriguez when asked about his new offensive line.

While talking about Jahiem White‘s progress – he’s fine and was limited during spring as a precaution, Rodriguez alluded to the possibility of a couple running backs challenging the Mountaineers’ star back and providing some healthy competition. But as usual, he wouldn’t name any names. And also as expected, Rodriguez is not ready to name any starters or offer any clarity on his depth chart.

“We have so many unknowns that we want to wait and see who earns the spots. Nobody is going to be given anything. Everybody is going to earn their spots.”

Despite a complete overhaul of the roster and having to implement a new culture, Rodriguez believes West Virginia can compete for a national championship. In fact, Rodriguez admitted he wouldn’t have accepted the job without being sold on WVU’s plan to succeed at the highest level.

“I think if the rev share comes in and the so-called salary cap comes in, it’ll give some sense of fairness across the board.”

However, no matter what happens, Rodriguez just simply believes it can happen, even if some think he’s crazy.

“I believe in our state. I believe in our university. I believe in our coaches. And I believe in our program. You look at Arizona State that went from worst to first in the Big 12. We could do the same thing.”

Find more coverage of Rich Rodriguez at WV Sports Now.