The One Position Rich Rodriguez Knows He Must Address in Next Portal Window

Rich Rodriguez is concerned with the depth at one spot on the Mountaineers’ offense

Only two practices are in the books, so there’s still a lot of evaluation that needs to be done with the West Virginia roster, but head coach Rich Rodriguez already knows one position in particular will need to be addressed during the next transfer portal window in April.

“I still think we got to get a little more depth at wide out. We just don’t have the numbers right now at wide receiver,” Rodriguez said.

“The worst part after spring is to let guys go because after our Big 12 call yesterday, it looks like roster limit is going to go to 105. I don’t like that and probably most coaches don’t. It’s going to cut out a lot of opportunities, especially for walk-ons. We’re going to have to cut some guys to get down to 105 and then are probably going to have to cut a few more because we’re going to need certain positions that are probably thin right now, like wide receiver.”

During the first wave of the transfer portal, West Virginia brought in five transfers at the receiver position: Jeff Weimer (Idaho State), Cam Vaughn (Jacksonville State), Jarod Bowie (Jacksonville State), Cyrus Traugh (Youngstown State), and Oran Singleton Jr. (Eastern Michigan).

in addition, the Mountaineers will see the return of Jaden Bray, Jarel Williams, Brandon Rehmann, Rodney Gallagher III, TJ Johnson, and Dom Collins.

I’m sure every coach would love to have 20 options at every single position, but it’s just not possible. As far as bodies go, WVU has more than enough to work with. Are they playable options, though? That’s the real question and one that Rodriguez provided the answer to by stating the team needs to add more at the position.

Weimer, Vaughn, Gallagher III, and Singleton are the four most proven talents while Bray, Traugh, and Williams all have experience but are most likely rotational/situational receivers.

The one thing the Mountaineers’ offense needs is a big body on the outside who can be a vertical threat. If you look up and down the receiver spot, there are a bunch of sub-six-foot, 200-pound receivers. It’s nice to have several little guys who can win in small spaces, but you’ll need someone who can beat physical corners who play press man coverage. That’s what they’ll be targeting in April.