Which Position Will Rich Rodriguez Prioritize the Most During Spring Portal?

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – As is often the case when a new staff takes over, Rich Rodriguez knew he would have to rebuild the WVU roster. And now that he’s in the midst of seeing how his team reacts to his “hard edge” philosophy during price practice, Rodriguez can tell which position needs the most attention.

When asked about a position he can already tell he will need to look to the spring portal to try to improve, Rodriguez wasted no time in mentioning wide receiver.

“I still think we got to get a little more depth at wide out. We just don’t have the numbers right now at wide receiver,” Rodriguez said. Despite adding several transfer wide receivers and thanks to the winter window and even retaining Rodney Gallagher, West Virginia just needs more depth.

Rodney Gallagher III makes the catch before turning around to run it in for the touchdown. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

Rodriguez also added that he likes the players he does have, most notably emphasizing liking their effort, but at the same time, it’s clear he doesn’t feel he has enough to ensure success for whoever ends up being his starting quarterback.

“The worst part after spring is to let guys go because after our Big 12 call yesterday, it looks like roster limit is going to go to 105. I don’t like that and probably most coaches don’t. It’s going to cut out a lot of opportunities, especially for walk-ons. We’re going to have to cut some guys to get down to 105 and then are probably going to have to cut a few more because we’re going to need certain positions that are probably thin right now, like wide receiver,” explained Rodriguez after a practice during the first week of their spring ball period.

Even though Rodriguez’s offense is led by the ground game, he needs the threat of a down field passing game and big plays through the air to keep the defense honest.

So since the jury is still out on if WVU did enough to replace the departures of Hudson Clement and Traylon Ray, Rodriguez keeps preaching his work at retooling the roster is not done.

For a related story, Rich Rodriguez details West Virginia’s plan for using tight ends.