The Year 2 Bump
In Rich Rodriguez’s entire head coaching career he has only had back to back losing seasons twice: Glenville State in 1990-1991 and Michigan in 2008-2009. His average win total for Year 2 in all of his coaching stops combined is 7. In his first stop at WVU, he went from 3-8 in his first year (2001) to 9-4 in his second year, with huge wins over No. 13 Virginia Tech in Blacksburgand No.17 Pitt at the Steelers stadium.
Dynamic Duo
When Rich Rodriguez and Rick Tricket coach together, good
things happen. According to this article by Schuyler Callihan, their win percentage together is .693, and they average 8.6 wins per year. We also invested heavily in the offensive line room and brought in a ton of talent, AND EXPERIENCE. That is the recipe for a run game that will bring back some good memories for us, and nightmare fuel for our opponents.
Jaden Bray is Healthy
Since transferring to WVU from Oklahoma State, Jaden Bray has received high praise from both coaching staffs he has played for here. Unfortunately, both seasons have been cut short by serious leg injuries, and we have never seen his potential fulfilled. Now in his senior year, Rich Rodriguez has mentioned him as a leader in the receiver room as well as someone they expect big production from. I loved hearing that he was taking reps in the slot as well as that could create matchup problems for opponents given his size at 6’ 2” 205 lbs and good speed.
Cam Cook
I know you’ve heard it before but it has to be said, Cam Cook was the nation’s leading rusher last year. It gets better though. He did this at Jacksonville State, in a system very similar to ours, behind an offensive line coached by Rick Trickett. In case you are worried about how that will translate to Power 4 football, he spent his first 2 years in college at TCU where he was productive. He knows what it looks like. Nothing is going to surprise him in this transition back to the Big 12. If that doesn’t give you hope that we are going to see a much improved offense this year, I’m not sure what will.
Zac Alley
Listen, I know our defense was pretty rough last year. I’m not going to go over the majority of our stat rankings, just trust me when I say they were bad. But there were 2 bright spots. We ranked 16th in the nation in tackles for a loss per game, and 31st in turnovers forced per game. The TFL stat screams that play calling was a strength for us. The turnovers stat tells me that it’s being emphasized and coached into the players. Both of these stats give me hope for a much improved defense in 2026.
Amari Latimer
I fully expect us to run the ball A LOT this season. We have to have someone who can share the load back there with Cam Cook. Every indication is that Amari Latimer is going to be that guy. I fully expect the true freshman to get significant playing time and carries all season long. Predicting how a true Freshman will play out is always a bit of an unknown, but there have been several clues that make me think he could be in for a big year. All of the coaches have had great things to say about him since he arrived in the spring. Everyone comments on how big he is, and that they can’t believe he is a freshman. All we have are his high school highlights for now, but there is a lot to be excited about here.
Scotty Fox Jr.
Pretty much everyone, including me, agrees that Michael Hawkins Jr. is going to be the starting quarterback for us this year. So why mention Scotty Fox here? He represents what I think will be the floor when it comes to what we can expect from the quarterback position this year. If that is in fact that case it means our backup quarterback is someone who set the single game Freshman passing yardage record twice. Went on the road and beat a ranked Houston team accounting for 3 touchdowns with 0 turnovers. Now that was all last year, you have to think he has improved since then. I firmly believe that at some point this year Scotty Fox will be called on in a big moment. I like his odds of succeeding.
Michael Hawkins Jr.
Let’s just come out and say it… We all feel better having a quarterback who can be a threat in both the pass AND RUN game. As much as I loved Nico and wanted to see him succeed last year, it just never looked like it was going to work consistently with him being a one dimensional passer in this offense. And while Scotty Fox is a willing runner, Michael Hawkins is a great runner, with big play speed and elusiveness. If he can be a competent passer, and protect the football, this season could get really interesting.
Show Me the Money
Wait, are we rich? I’ve seen reports that say this year’s roster is over $20 million in market value. That’s a jump from $12.5 million last year and lands us in the top half of the Big 12. A lot of people have looked at the fact that we had to bring in well over 70 new players this year as a negative, but what if they are all better than the ones who left? Wouldn’t that be a good thing? I know we’re never going to hit on 100% of the players we bring in, but I think it’s safe to say that the roster this year is more talented than the previous year and I don’t think it’s even close.
Mountaineer Momentum
It’s been a rough stretch for us Mountaineer fans, particularly for our football team. If I am being honest, this is probably one of the roughest stretches I can remember. But it feels like we might be on the verge of turning that around. It started with the men’s basketball team winning the College Basketball Crown Tournament. Around that same time we had the women’s basketball team hosting NCAA tournament games to sold-out crowds in the Hope Coliseum. Then, we had the magical run by the baseball team to the College World Series. Don’t look now Mountaineer fans, but I think this is what momentum feels like. We currently have a top 10 ranked Women’s Soccer team, Men and Women’s basketball teams are projected to make the tournament, and if the football team can just pick up a little bit of that good energy, well we are going to be in for a fun year!
What did I miss? Let me know what you are excited about or disagree with in the comments!
