Rich Rodriguez, Zac Alley Get Candid When Talking About Jimmori Robinson

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Lost in the improved play of the defense against TCU was the absence of Jimmori Robinson. The hyped up transfer addition failed to earn a single snap in West Virginia’s 23-17 loss.

After saying he expected more from Robinson the prior week, Rich Rodriguez was again asked to talk about Robinson during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

In the interest of transparency, Rodriguez then revealed that last week “wasn’t a great week” for Robinson as far as preparation. He then added that Robinson also had “some other stuff” going on, hinting his mind may have been elsewhere.

“Last week wasn’t a great week for him, as far as preparation… Hopefully, this week, he’ll be able to be totally in all our preparation, and he can have a bigger role Saturday,” said Rodriguez.

WVU HC Rich Rodriguez says last week wasn't a great week for Jimmori Robinson as far as preparation and he had "some other stuff" going on. He expects him to be full prepared and ready to go this week.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) October 28, 2025

WVU defensive coordinator Zac Alley echoed Rodriguez’s sentiment, but did say that Robinson was engaged on Sunday and doesn’t envision any issues this week.

While neither coach would elaborate any further, it’s clear Robinson’s lack of playing time hasn’t been due to any undisclosed injury. Instead, his lack of production when on the field and his failure to meet their standard during practice throughout the week led to not using him.

Two weeks ago, Alley called upon Robinson to “be a dude” and play up to his potential. He has yet to meet that demand, and if he ever will as a Mountaineer, remains up in the air.

Robinson has only recorded two total tackles, with just one credited as solo, in his two games played this season.

Robinson, who had fight the NCAA to earn eligibility, transferred to West Virginia after spending the past four years at UTSA. In San Antonio, Robinson roistered 4.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 2023 before breaking out in 2024, dropping opposing quarterbacks in the backfield 10.5 times. He also added 17 tackles for loss.

Robinson began his career at Dodge City Community College in 2019, spending two seasons at the JUCO level before transferring to UTSA.

Find more coverage of Jimmori Robinson and the  WVU football program at WV Sports Now.