West Virginia football rebuilt their roster this winter under first-year head coach Rich Rodriguez, and the Mountaineers hit the transfer portal the hardest at three position groups: defensive backs, offensive line, and wide receivers.
Depth is key at the receiver position, and with contributors like Hudson Clement, Justin Robinson, and DayDay Farmer off to new pastures, there was a level of replenishment that needed to be done as well.
With any group of new players coming together in a new system, there is a level of uncertainty and a gelling period that must take place -- it certainly helps that Rodriguez was able to bring some pieces with him from Jacksonville State. Rodriguez discussed his wide receiver room at length on Thursday, and seemed content with the group he's assembled, but far from satisfied with every aspect of the unit as a whole.
"I still think we got to get some more competition there, and Ryan [Garrett] is going to do a good job recruiting it," Rodriguez said. "Preston [Fox] is going to help, he's a proven veteran. Cam Vaughn has played a lot of snaps, and Jaden Bray has had some good moments. And there's a couple other guys that have done some good things."
WVU HC Rich Rodriguez on WR Room: "I think we probably still got to get some more competition in there."
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 13, 2025
"We got a pretty good group right -- I think when you're this early in the process, especially coming in as a new staff, we're still trying to figure out where everyone fits," WVU wide receiver coach Ryan Garrett told the press Thursday.
One name that stands out -- Preston Fox -- will likely be a key piece of the receiver rotation. Fox initially retired following former coach Neal Brown's departure in December, but recently had a change of heart and decided to exercise his final season of eligibility and return to the program. He was welcomed with open arms.
"When he came back, those guys know he's competing to play with them, right," Garrett said. "So I was kind of reading their reactions when he walked in the room to see if anybody was like, 'oh man, this guy is back.' But it was the exact opposite. It was a lot of laughter, a lot of 'man, P. Fox, you're back? And that was not just in the receiver room, through the whole team. That showed me a lot."
"Preston is smart enough and he's been around enough -- we really have four different receiver positions, two slots and two outside, and I think he's going to be able to learn them all," Rodriguez said. "He'll probably play both inside and outside."
That versatility will suit Fox and the Mountaineers well, as Rodriguez is a little bit more sure about his depth at slot receiver than on the outside, and not all receivers are adept at bouncing between inside reciever and outside receiver. Rodriguez for now seems to be happy with what he's working with, but also said there will be some close evaluations at wideout in the coming weeks.
"The slot positions, we're pretty good there with Rodney [Gallagher] and [Jared] Bowie, and [Oran] Singleton," he said. "But the outside receivers, still, it's wide open. It's really wide open for us in our two-deep or three-deep going forward. So that's one of the positions we're taking close evaluations on the next two weeks."
"We had that talk last week. We don't have any starters, and we're not playing a game next week," Garrett added.
WVU WR coach Ryan Garrett on the depth chart: "We had that talk last week. We don't have any starters, and we're not playing a game next week."
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 13, 2025