Apr. 11—MORGANTOWN — West Virginia's second offseason is here with the conclusion of the final spring practice. However, it is far from an offseason for Rich Rodriguez. There are under 150 days until the first snap of WVU's season, and there is a lot to be done.
The players don't have as much to do this this offseason, but they, too, have to make some tough decisions.
In the spring, FBS programs get 15 practices over a 34-day period, and the Mountaineers' last practice was the spring game. After the spring game, players are allowed unlimited weight lifting without instruction, meaning they can work out at home or with a third party. They are limited to eight hours a week of strength and conditioning with strength coaches Mike Joseph and Parker Whiteman. These are conducted workouts. Other than that and watching film, there's not much players can do until the start of practice in August.
They do have tough choices, though. Starting on April 16, players who aren't comfortable in Morgantown can enter the spring transfer portal. Some players already planned to enter the portal but can't officially until the 16th. The portal closes on April 25th.
Players may be more inclined to enter the portal after roster cuts. Rodriguez has to shrink his roster size down to 105 from the over 120 players he had during the final spring practice. That's arguably the toughest part of the season for Rodriguez. Rodriguez didn't wait, either, to make cuts. There are players who are no longer on the roster already.
The players who are cut get to find a new place to play with the portal instead of becoming a regular student. WVU players are already planning to enter the portal a week out from when it officially opens.
After a tough week making roster cuts, Rodriguez isn't done there and has another important couple of weeks ahead. Rodriguez starts recruiting transfers to fill the holes on his roster, and he said there are a lot of holes. Rodriguez listed every position except the long snapper and the quarterback as a position of need in the portal. Will that be possible ? Unlikely because he's already over the 105 limit, so that'd mean he has to cut more, but there will be some additions in this portal. Rodriguez added an NCAA-most 31 players in the winter portal.
Then comes June, which is the biggest month for recruiting for the class of 2026 and future generations of Mountaineers. June 15th is when coaches can talk to rising juniors for the class of 2026-27. WVU will host official visits, and Rodriguez will travel all over the country, heading to homes for in-person visits. He'll be full-go for two months on the recruiting trail.
Recruiting will take place throughout the summer, but there are some dead and quiet periods, where coaches can't make contact with recruits, throughout when Rodriguez can take a little break and vacation before summer practices.
Before summer practices, the media regains access. There's no date for West Virginia's media day, but the Big 12 media day is July 8 and July 9 in Texas. Rodriguez and a select number of players will head out with all the other coaches of the conference, to allow national media coverage.
Just like that, it's August, and summer practices can start, leading up to the first game on the 30th.
Although it's a dead period of media coverage for WVU football, there'll be a ton to do for Rodriguez and his staff behind the scenes in the coming months. There'll be roster moves for this season's team, but more importantly, the teams in the years to come.
