Rich Rodriguez ‘Disappointed,’ Not ‘Discouraged’ After WVU Looked ‘Soft’ in Practice

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Saying Rich Rodriguez was unhappy after WVU’s second practice of camp would be an understatement. Rodriguez said his team looked “soft” and didn’t take the step he expected to see 24 hours after an encouraging opening practice the day before.

“We’re in shorts and it’s nice weather. You think this is hot and humid, you haven’t lived anywhere else,” said Rodriguez. “I addressed it with the team. There’s not a whole lot of experience in that group, so I’m not expecting a handful of guys to grab a hold and leadership. That’s on us as coaches…. We have a lot of guys that go hard all the time. The guys that did it the last two days, the guys that did it today, we register it in our minds. He’s got that edge. He’s there.”

Above all else, Rodriguez seemed the most disappointed in his running backs, at least most of them. Without calling any individual player’s out, he revealed that he ended practice with only two backs left sanding. The rest all tapped out at some point, requesting to be attended to by one of the medical trainers.

WVU HC Rich Rodriguez says only two running backs made it through practice without tapping out today.

“You think I’m not going to talk to my recruiting staff?”

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) July 31, 2025

Rodriguez eventually clarified that he’s “disappointed,” not “discouraged” by his team’s regression. He still feels the “Hard Edge” attributes he noticed when recruiting this roster are there and he has players with the kind of intensity needed to win, even if he didn’t see enough of that on a Thursday in late July.

At the same time, Rodriguez clearly wanted to send a message to his team, especially since his disappointment occurred on July 31 with August on the horizon and the regular season only a month away.

“You think I’m not going to talk to my recruiting staff?,” Rodriguez said as a way to make it clear there are still available players and he’s not ruling out trying to find replacements if necessary.

Bad days happen, even for great teams, but defensive coordinator Zac Alley’s words ring true for a coaching staff still evaluating what they have and trying to determine the depth chart.

“The guys you want to play have more good days than bad days,” explained Alley while offering his assessment of the defense. Alley didn’t go as far as his head coach and mentor, but classified their effort as simply “average” before adding that it wasn’t the worst practice he’s ever been part of either, for whatever that’s worth.

Both coaches believe if West Virginia is going to enjoy success in 2025 and prove their doubters wrong, it will happen due to toughness and effort. Alley said toughness and effort can take a team “all the way,” making bad days stand out.

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

For a related story, Rodriguez tipped his hand about reps eventually unveiling WVU’s quarterback competition.