Rich Rodriguez is back at West Virginia for round two as the program's head coach, and he hopes he can replicate the massive success he had leading WVU from 2001-2007.
Not everyone is sold on Rodriguez coming back to lead the Mountaineers, though -- from hecklers at his opening press conference, to one CBS Sports analyst believing Rodriguez's methods cannot succeed in 2025, to a recent ranking putting him in the bottom half of Power 4 coaches entering the upcoming season, doubters are everywhere.
But it's hard to argue anyone knows the sport today like Rodriguez's fellow coaches, nor would anyone understand the position he and the WVU program are in quite like those peers. So when Athlon recently published their annual edition of anonymous quotes from coaches about their competition across the sport, several Big 12 coaches shared their thoughts on Rodriguez and what they think he can pull off this season in Morgantown.
Below are a collection of some of the quotes shared by these coaches:
"If they can lock in the offensive line and find their next guy in the backfield, they could finish ahead of schedule."
"They need to find that group of backfield workhorses for the system to run. A lot of the guys they brought with them from Jacksonville State are at other positions, so the biggest thing to watch is how fast they lock on their ball-carriers and the QB. If that clicks, everything else will adjust quicker."
"Rich [Rodriguez] hasn’t been shy about expectations going into his first year back."
"This is an adjustment year where they can put in the culture and the scheme."
"I don’t think they have the bodies yet on defense, especially up front. They’re going to struggle on that side of the ball, unless they can really jump out on offense and keep them off the field."
The comments range from pretty solid praise regarding what the competition thinks Rodriguez can pull off in his first season basically rebuilding a program from scratch, to concerns about exactly how well the Mountaineers can compete given their depth and talent at certain positions.
The comments regarding the team's need to put together a strong backfield and their ability to potentially surprise folks if they do are interesting, given the fact that the running back room has emerged looking like one of the strongest on the roster, and that their are multiple dual-threat quarterbacks suiting up for the Mountaineers this fall.
The return of standout Jahiem White from last year's roster bodes well for finding a "backfield workhorse" as he has already managed 800+ yards rushing in consecutive seasons for WVU while sharing carries with CJ Donaldson, who has since transferred to Ohio State.
Returning redshirt freshman Diore Hubbard also looked strong in the Gold-Blue Spring Showcase, while transfer Tye Edwards from Northern Iowa has a big-bodied frame and comes off a 1,000-yard season and transfer Jaylon Knighton from SMU has managed two 500+ rushing yard seasons in his collegiate career -- one each at SMU and Miami (FL).
At quarterback, returning redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol proved his rushing ability in Neal Brown's offense when he served as a starter multiple times in relief of an injured Garrett Greene, while transfer Jaylen Henderson dazzled with his dual-threat capabilities in limited playing time at Texas and transfer Max Brown showed he can run the ball with the best during the Spring Showcase.