Reid Carrico Ready for Increased Role as Leader, Why He Stayed at WVU

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –  One of the few carryovers from the 2024 team became the first WVU football player to speak with the media since the start of spring ball on Tuesday. It quickly became apparent Reid Carrico is being relied upon more as a leader now than last season and he’s also very confident in the 2025 Mountaineers.

Carrico is no stranger to college football – this will be year five for him. “I’ve played in four or five different schemes in college now…the main thing i just learning the new terminology and going from there,” said the veteran linebacker about having to learn his third new system in as many years.

Having just transferred from Ohio State following the 2023 season, Carrico experienced a head coach being fired for the first time after his first year at WVU, something that usually causes players to leave town as well. But Carrico said he was locked into staying in West Virginia no matter what. Neal Brown may have recruited him, but Carrico is happy to finish his career as a Mountaineer, fit into Rich Rodriguez’s culture and avoid dealing with the transfer portal again.

“I wasn’t going to leave. I already went through the whole portal process and it was a mess,” he explained when asked directly if he considered looking for a third college program since he would have to learn new coaches again no matter what.

And it seems as if he is fitting in just fine. On top of being confident he can easily learn a new system and adjust to any coach, Carrico is also enjoying the new “hard edge” mentality of Rodriguez’s staff, namely defensive coordinator Zac Alley.

Carrico feels he can connect with Alley due to his younger age compared to his past defensive coordinators.

“I’ve always had older coaches since I’ve been in college so to have a younger coach, it’s kind of unique…anytime you have a guy who’s easy to approach or communicate with is worth it’s weight in gold.”

West Virginia Mountaineers linebacker Reid Carrico (35) rects during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va. (WVSN photo by William Wotring)

But no matter what the coaches are doing, Carrico is embracing the responsibility of being the elder statesman to his teammates. And while he noted that some may need more help than others, he truly believes this team is ready to win right now.

“We have plenty of talent here to win,” said a confident Carrico.

To his credit, Carrico registered 54 total tackles with 17 of them as solo tackles and forced a fumble in 2024.