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West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez held his first weekly radio show of the season and here is a summary of what was said.
The Rich Rodriguez Radio Show debuted live from Kegler’s and the head coach discussed the latest.
–Rodriguez said that it’s gone really fast for him since his return to West Virginia due to having to build a roster in a hurry. That took up a large part of the off-season and they were still adding players up to last week. They’re better now than where they were seven months ago.
–Rodriguez said they needed quality players, and they look at all of the levels. They signed more transfers this year than they will in the future and they will focus more on high school players. Rodriguez said they have to stick to their culture and develop it, which is challenging in the first year, but next year the only ones that should have to learn it are the newer players coming into the fold.
–Rodriguez said August was the most challenging camp he’s ever had but he thinks it’s largely because they had so many new players. But he does believe his team got better.
–Rodriguez said when they release the depth chart in the next few days there are going to be a lot of “-or-“s on it. His goal is to play as many people as possible, but they have to be good enough to win with.
–Rodriguez said the offensive line is a key spot he wants to see, and quarterback is another position there. He said they will use more than one quarterback and said that might be the case every week. The plan is not to substitute unless there is a stoppage in clock at all positions.
—Jack Bicknell has a lot of experience and is a really good recruiter when it came to hiring him to lead the offensive line.
–Rodriguez said when it comes to play calling for the first game they want to focus on the ones that they can execute. They have some idea of what they do well and he believes they have picked up the tempo well with getting the signal fast and getting lined up fast. When it comes to running the football they aren’t as big and powerful as they need to be but they’re athletic. So they can do a variety of things in the run game.
–There are times that West Virginia will go like it’s a two-minute drill with their tempo.
–Rodriguez said that Nicco Marchiol has got the most experience along with Jaylen Henderson. Marchiol has a feel for the game and understands things quicker. He has good arm strength and is a willing runner. Henderson is a good athlete that can run and has many of the same things with experience. Max Brown might be the best athlete and has some experience but might have the best arm strength of all. The two young guys in Scotty Fox and Khalil Wilkins, Fox has one of the quickest releases of a quarterback he has ever had. Wilkins can really run and is an eager option that is willing to learn. Rodriguez said it’s safe to say that you could see all five this season. When a guy gets hot you don’t want to take a guy out but when you have a solid competition you want to give them all a shot. They’ve all done enough to warrant getting reps and that’s why they have to manage it. If one guy goes out and dominates, Rodriguez will be happy to go with that player at quarterback.
–At wide receiver, Rodriguez said they might be deeper there than at other spots. Jaden Bray and Preston Fox have experience. Cam Vaughn is an explosive guy and Justin Smith-Brown can really run. Jeffrey Weimer is an older guy that has a lot of skills and is a tough guy. Rodriguez named several others and also talked about his skill in the slot with Rodney Gallagher, Oran Singleton, etc.
–Rodriguez said that he looks at the GPS to see how many miles players run in practice and if it’s a lot, they will rework the receivers to do more quick game instead of down the field plays.
–Rodriguez wants his players to run on the field and off the field and in-between drills to help get them in shape. When practice is over, he wants it to be over. If there are a lot of guys loafing and not going full speed then maybe they’re not in shape enough but it’s hard to tell until you get into a game. The last few practices have been pretty crisp and not a lot of loafing.
–If you get 25 first downs you’re probably winning the game because you’re controlling the tempo. That means you’re running the ball well and controlling the pace of the game.
–On the defensive side, Zac Alley was the key hire for him this off-season. He has helped them build a great staff and it starts up front with the defensive line. They needed to get more physical and athletic in the secondary and they addressed that. You always have to have pass rushers and people that can cover and those were the biggest needs that had to be addressed when they got here in January.
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