Let's no longer beat around the bush or walk on eggshells about the situation regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in college sports -- the NCAA need to look into it and tweak it immediately. It has and will continue to run rampant in the world of college football, continuing to shed a negative light on the concept we refer to as loyalty.
Loyalty no longer exists in the world of college sports. So what does this mean specifically for West Virginia football? Well, the classic WVU phrase "Once A Mountaineer, Always A Mountaineer" doesn't quite mean what it used to by any stretch. In-state players are now bailing on the program. It used to be a dream to wear the old-gold-and-blue uniform if you were from West Virginia -- because that accomplishment did not happen very often, to be quite honest.
Until something changes, WVU may have mediocre athletes. The bright side is that coaches like Rich Rodriguez will demand perfection and steer you into the depths of your soul to find that grit. For the foreseeable future, WVU will likely not attract many 4-5 star athletes. The boosters at WVU can not, unlike Colorado and Alabama, pay a player $5 million or more to play.
With Morgantown already not being a sexy location on the map, it's challenging enough to attract athletes to want to come play for the Mountaineers, much less for four years. And now, as the legendary basketball coach Tubby Smith once said, we are teaching our athletes how to quit. Loyalty is out the window. So, how can this be fixed with a destination such as Morgantown?
It already takes a special type of player to play for Rodriguez. That might be what is going on with all of the transfers out of the football program. Do they not trust the quarterback situation next season? Or do they not have grit? Maybe they are afraid of Law School Hill? Because this is where you can bet your bottom dollar that Rodriguez will have them spending most of their early mornings.
Only a couple of answers are the right ones going forward for this sport as a whole. Transfers need to be limited to 1 per athlete per career -- possibly 2 in special situations. Also, the money given to any given player at any given time needs to be maxed out, similar to how the professional leagues operate under a salary cap.
In my opinion, a player who plays for four different schools in four years should be frowned upon. What do you think can be done now to get back the loyalty to schools and have players stick around for a while?