West Virginia football is certainly looking a little worrisome right now under Rich Rodriguez. After holding the annual spring game on April 5 this year, Mountaineer spring football has been over for a little over a week now, but the news from the program is definitely flowing.
The spring football transfer portal officially opens today and over 25 West Virginia players hit a dead sprint to get in. The Mountaineers have had 50 players enter the portal altogether since the end of the 2024 season after former head coach Neal Brown was fired.
More than 25 West Virginia players have officially entered the NCAA transfer portal this morning👀https://t.co/kSYG7dYADj pic.twitter.com/H1DYyk1Vw1
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) April 16, 2025
West Virginia loses more than 25 players to the spring transfer portal on opening day
It makes sense for players to enter the spring transfer portal after or during spring practices depending on when the annual spring game is, and this many players leaving at once could appear very alarming.
There is a simple explanation, though. Including incoming freshmen, the Mountaineers were well over the new 105-player roster limit at the end of spring football and knew a large number of roster cuts were inevitable -- and Rodriguez has been adamant that he wants to hit the transfer portal hard again. He told the media during spring ball that "post-spring is not going to be fun" due to roster cuts, and that "because their is a second portal period, the roster may look at little different in May."
WVU HC Rich Rodriguez: "Post-spring is not going to be fun" due to roster cuts.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 4, 2025
Rich Rodriguez on Transfers: "Because their is a second portal period, the roster may look at little different in May."
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) February 20, 2025
After firing Brown at the end of the 2024 season, West Virginia chose to bring in old head coach Rich Rodriguez, who coached at West Virginia from 2001 to 2007, winning four Big East Championships with the Mountaineers. However, the way Rodriguez left is what left sour tastes in the mouths of Mountaineer fans.
Rodriguez informed his players he was leaving to take the Michigan head coaching position and instead of staying to coach the team in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl like his resignation letter said he would, he instead chose to leave in December of 2007. After not paying his buyout, West Virginia filed a motion for declaratory judgment, basically trying to say that Rodriguez's contract was valid and he had to pay that money.
This is who West Virginia chose to bring back this season. While Rodriguez was successful in the Big East, the Mountaineers are now in the Big 12, and a very competitive Big 12 that is. Without enough players on the roster, there are questions about how the program is going to grow into what it needs to be in order to compete.