MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Two months after announcing his intention to retire from football altogether, wide receiver Preston Fox has had a change of heart.
West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez confirmed Monday that Fox, a wide receiver who was with the Mountaineers each of the last five seasons, has returned to the program for a sixth and final season of college football.
“I got a call that he might want to come back. I knew about him a little bit just looking at last year,” Rodriguez said. “I thought he was out of eligibility. I didn’t realize he had another year. He called me and said he wanted to talk about coming back, and I said, ‘sure.’ He came over and we met. I said I’d love to have him. He’s a good football player. All his teammates loved him and it’s good to have him. He’s a guy that can help us at all our receiver positions, because he’s a smart guy.”
Fox practiced with the team Monday for the second time in spring football and will participate in a full padded practice for the first time Wednesday.
Monday marked West Virginia’s seventh spring practice and the second for Fox, who is set to participate in a fully-padded practice for the first time Wednesday.
WVU will also practice Thursday before an extended break for spring break.
Fox had announced his intention to step away from the game for good on January 6, having battled and played through several injuries throughout his WVU career.
“I wanted to come on here and thank everyone for all the support throughout my career! I have decided to stop playing football for many reasons but, personally, it’s time for me to move on,” Fox wrote on social media that day. “West Virginia has made my dreams of earning a scholarship come true, but not only earn a schools but compete at the highest collegiate level. Everything comes to an end at some point, but my life is just starting. Thank You West Virginia! Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer.”
A Morgantown native who excelled on the gridiron at Morgantown High School, Fox began his career with the Mountaineers as a walk-on before being put on scholarship directly after the 2022 spring game.
For his career, Fox has 43 receptions for 548 yards and three touchdowns. He caught two TDs in 2023, a season in which the 5-foot-10, 191-pound Fox had a career-best 26 receptions for 368 yards.
A season ago, Fox had 12 receptions for 131 yards.
Fox has also been a punt and kickoff returner, having returned 37 punts for 301 yards and 19 kickoffs for 476 yards throughout his career.