Rich Rodriguez Adds to Hype for 2026 Season, Confirms Belief in Team

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Any coach can hype up a new season, but doing it after a 4-8 year campaign can be risky. West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez believes his hype, and so much so that he added to it days ahead of the kicking off his second season of his second tenure in Morgantown.

During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Rodriguez consistently brought up his team’s depth and experience, even if not all collectively from time together.

For Rodriguez, the talent isn’t even what gives him confidence. He believes in his team because of the way they’ve been working and how motivated and engaged they all seem.

“I like the way they work and I think they’re ready to play a game,” he said as why he knows they’re ready for Week 1.

The talent, work ethic, “Hard Edge” passion and experience has also led to a healthy amount of competition, especially at key positions.

“I think overall, there is a lot more competition to play at all the positions,” Rodriguez said. “We have competition at just about every position, and we couldn’t say that a year ago.” That’s why Rodriguez referred to his players as “very coachable” before seeing them in action against an opponent wearing an another team’s colors.

However, Rodriguez hinted that his belief in having multiple players down the depth chart who are “good enough to win with” may make him unwilling to tolerate as much as he did last season. But to that end, he’s hoping for health and for his starters to impress him in games as they have to this point.

West Virginia will kickoff the 2026 season at home against Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will follow a pregame ceremony to honor program legend and member of the current coaching staff Pat White.

Find more coverage of Rich Rodriguez and the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.