West Virginia Head Coach Rich Rodriguez is clear about one thing: if all you're chasing in college football is a check, he doesn't necessarily want you around his program.
To an extent, in the NIL era, you do have to go the 'hired gun' route regardless of preferences. It's harder these days to maintain roster stability, and eventually you're going to need to fill at least one or two roster spots with players who have been in the portal multiple times throughout their career in pursuit of the best NIL deal.
But at a press conference on Tuesday, Rodriguez noted that if the sole objective for a player is the best financial deal and no other factors are coming into play, he's less likely to want to recruit him to WVU.
"If a guy is thinking just about money, if it's solely about money, we're probably not recruiting him," Rodriguez said. "Because he's going to get bought by someone else, probably, and he's not going to fit here."
WVU HC Rich Rodriguez on recruiting in the NIL era: "If a guy is thinking just about money, if it's solely about money, we're probably not recruiting him. Because he's going to get bought by someone else, probably, and he's not going to fit here."
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 25, 2025
While Rodriguez does acknowledge that he ultimately wants "to have dudes that help us win" and that sometimes it does come down to getting the most talented guys to fill the spot -- which comes with a hefty paycheck -- there are many components to building a successful roster under his system, and there needs to be more than just a desire to earn money.
"Some of that is attitude, commitment, that's all part of that. It's not just talent," Rodriguez said.
WVU HC Rich Rodriguez on balancing players at WVU for NIL money and those at WVU due to commitment to the program: "What I trend to want is to have dudes that help us win...some of that is attitude, commitment, that's all part of that. It's not just talent."
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 25, 2025