Rich Rodriguez Definitive About Thought of Rodney Gallagher on Defense

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Even though Rich Rodriguez still doesn’t know how he will utilize his wide receivers, one thing he does know for sure is none of them will be seen on defense. That’s already in contrast to what happened last season, especially when it comes to Rodney Gallagher.

The highest rated recruit from the Neal Brown era received time at nickel for two main reasons in 2024: to help the secondary and also get him more opportunities on the field. But Rodriguez quickly shot down any talk of that scenario repeating itself for Gallagher during a press conference after spring practice on Tuesday.

“If Rodney is playing both ways, then we did a crappy job of filling our roster,” responded Rodriguez to a direct question about the possibility of Gallagher getting any reps on defense again. That said, Gallagher’s overall role is still unclear.

WVU HC Rich Rodriguez says he does not plan to play Rodney Gallagher on defense even though he got time last season.

“If Rodney is playing both ways, then we did a crappy job of filling our roster.”

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) March 4, 2025

When asked for his evaluation of Gallagher, Rodriguez said he likes him and he’s a good player, but he also has tons of competition. Of course, Rodriguez is hinting that no position is locked up for any of his receivers. Rodriguez mentioned transfer addition Cam Vaughn, who he coached at Jacksonville State, by name when discussing competitors for Gallagher. Rodriguez then added he plans to train every receiver as both an inside and outside option before solidifying where they will best fit within the offense.

While acknowledging 2025 – his third year of college football – is a pivotal year for Gallagher, Rodriguez said he treats every year as a pivotal season for every player because he never knows how long he will have them around in the transfer portal era.

WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose

To his credit, Gallagher took a big step during his sophomore year in 2024, making 26 receptions for 288 yards and scoring three touchdowns. He had only 10 catches for 74 yards in limited time as a freshman.

Simply put, fans shouldn’t expect any attempt at trying to turn Gallagher into the next Travis Hunter.

A product of nearby Western Pennsylvania based Laurel Highlands High School, Gallagher is now listed at 5-foot-10 and 178 pounds.

There was talk that Gallagher, who did return a couple punts in 2024, would be used as WVU’s main returner in 2025 by Brown in the past. It remains to be seen if that’s the case moving forward now with Rodriguez making the decisions.

For a related story, Rodney Gallagher made a savable donation to the WVU Children’s Hospital.