Why ESPN’s Offseason Rank for WVU Football is Confusing

While many are recognizing the successful offseason for WVU football and predicting a winning 2026, one national outlet remains far from ready to crown the Mountaineers.

In ranking the offseason for every Power Four program, ESPN placed West Virginia near the bottom of the Big 12 again.

Below is what the ESPN analysts had to say about WVU:

Biggest coaching move: “Coach Rich Rodriguez twice had to fill his defensive ends assistant role, initially hiring Larry Knight, who left for a spot at Georgia, and then bringing in veteran Deke Adams, who most recently worked at Arkansas. Adams also has made stops at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina and elsewhere. Rodriguez added running backs coach Jay Boulware, who spent the past three years at Kentucky with backs and as special teams coordinator. Boulware worked in the Big 12 at Texas, Oklahoma and Iowa State.”

What went wrong: “Rodriguez and his coaches are continuing one of the most ambitious roster flips in the sport. West Virginia had 28 players start four or more games last season. Only three of them — quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. and offensive linemen Nick Krahe and Landen Livingston — are still on the roster. Eighteen of the players who moved on were graduating seniors, and another seven exited via the portal, including top receivers Vaughn (Miami) and Rodney Gallagher III (Arizona). The Mountaineers parted ways with 43 scholarship transfers this offseason and are working with a 2026 that will feature more than 80 newcomers.”

What went right: “The Mountaineers again imported a ton of experience with their portal class. Cook was the leading rusher in FBS last season with 1,659 yards and 16 TDs at Jacksonville State. Hawkins started five games at Oklahoma and is competing with Fox for the starting job. The Mountaineers found good new options at receiver with Prince Strachan (USC) and DJ Epps (Troy) to go along with Jaden Bray, and they added four multiyear starters to their offensive line. On defense, Campbell should be an impact pass rusher after putting up the second-most pressures (39) in the Sun Belt last season, per ESPN Research. He’s one of 11 portal pickups coming in with starting experience, and eight junior college additions should help boost depth. The future looks brighter, too, after the Mountaineers inked a top-25 recruiting class in ESPN’s rankings.”

Mike Asti’s take:

Nothing is guaranteed for WVU and dreaming of a Big 12 title might be premature, but this still seems like a perfect example of the national media not being as aware of what’s actually going on as the fan or those in media who cover the program on a regular basis. Most of the portal “losses” were players WVU no longer deemed worthy of staying or players who were subsequently replaced by more talented athletes.

There’s no way West Virginia finishes second to last in the conference. But no matter what happens, Rodriguez and his staff put together one of the highest ranked recruiting classes in school history, added more Power Four transfers with actual in-game experience than one year ago and were able to enjoy a smoother spring period compared to the chaotic experience of their first year on the job.

WVU freshman offensive lineman Kevin Brown during the scrimmage part of the Gold-Blue Spring Festival. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

Of course, there are plenty of fair questions to ask about the roster, although those also exist for many of the programs ranked ahead of WVU. The talent is there. The roster is bigger and more experienced. Significantly more money was spent. And all in all, the Mountaineers should be better in 2026, granted they also have to be and it would be hard to be worse.

It’s also worth noting that the 2025 team, one that was incredibly inconsistent on offense and often terrible on defense, would’ve likely reached bowl eligibility if not for all of the injuries. Even as injured as the team was, they should’ve won a game or two more. Taking that into account and the track record of Rodriguez, it’s really tough to not believe improvement will happen and the program will take a step in the right direction in the fall.

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