For the second time in as many seasons upon returning to West Virginia as head coach, Rich Rodriguez has reworked the majority of the Mountaineer roster.
This time around, however, Rodriguez believes there are noticeable and noteworthy differences.
“As tough as it was at times last year, I think it was our biggest learning year going forward to this year because we knew we’d have a little bit more — we have a full revenue share now,” Rodriguez said Wednesday during Big 12 Media Days from Frisco, Texas. “Last year, we didn’t have that. We had more time to find guys that were productive at the other schools that played college football as opposed to we didn’t have any offensive linemen that started games last year. We were able to get more guys we thought were ready to play and more competition at all the positions, and you’ve got to constantly evolve a little bit.”
The Mountaineers finished 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big 12 in 2025. Half of the eight setbacks were by 31 or more points, while three were one-possession losses.
A revolving door at quarterback and an abundance of injuries over the first half of the season didn’t help, and the Mountaineers were overmatched on too many occasions, including in a 49-0 home loss to conference champion Texas Tech to finish the season.
The 2026 version of WVU football will largely feature different personnel, particularly on defense, where linebacker Ben Cutter is the only returning player among the top 17 tacklers from last season.
“We had a little bit more money this year, a lot more time, a little bit more intent on who we wanted to get out of the portal,” Rodriguez said.
Included in the large contingent of portal additions is quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., a redshirt sophomore transfer from Oklahoma.
Hawkins played extensively for the Sooners as a true freshman in 2024 and sparingly in 2025 for what served as a redshirt season.
In his first season at WVU, Hawkins is expected to compete for the starting signal-caller job with sophomore Scotty Fox Jr., the starter behind center for each of the Mountaineers’ final six games last year.
“We wanted to have competition at every position and legitimate competition, and we wanted guys that had production, not potential,” Rodriguez said. “At the quarterback spot, Scotty coming back, he played as a true freshman last year and competed well. He’s gotten better. But we wanted a guy that we think can compete for the starting job and maybe take us to another level, and that was Mike Hawkins, who had a great spring. He can run. He can throw.
“The thing that I was most impressed with Mike and Scotty both in the spring is their decisiveness. A lot of times the quarterback is still learning the system and they hang on to the ball too long or they hesitate, and Mike and Scotty were both really, really decisive in their actions. I’m excited about those two leading the charge there, but I also think we were able to get competition at just about every position.”
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During Wednesday’s session at the podium, of which Rodriguez was last of the 16 Big 12 coaches to speak over two days, he was asked about a hiatus in the Backyard Brawl starting this year that spans each of the next three seasons.
West Virginia and Pitt don’t resume their storied rivalry until 2029, which will be the first of eight straight seasons the Backyard Brawl is contested after a four-year extension to the series was finalized in September 2025.
“We should be playing them every year,” Rodriguez said. “So we’ll get them back. Now, I don’t know how long that’s going to keep going after that, but I think all of what’s happened in college athletics, part of the conference expansions and breakups, whatever, has caused a lot of those traditional rivalries to go by the wayside.”
Rodriguez then reiterated his stance for a more regionalized schedule, something the coach also noted his desire for earlier this summer.
West Virginia, as one of three Big 12 members in the eastern time zone, has anything but that at present, though the Mountaineers play six of their first seven games and eight altogether in the time zone they’re accustomed to this season.
“I’m not afraid to share my own opinions. I love the Big 12, but it would be nice to have some regional — having us all come together. Here we all come together and shake hands and give each other a group hug and have an eastern regional and a north regional and a south regional and everybody share the money,” Rodriguez said. “There’s money for everybody, we all can get along, like 60 of us or so. I think that would be great.
“Did anybody else say that? Probably not. They might be afraid. I don’t care. I’m going to put in my pitch right now. I’m not speaking for anybody other than Coach Rod, that he would love for all the Power Four teams to come together, shake hands, and let’s get the biggest TV package in the history of TV packages, and we could have Pitt and Virginia Tech and Penn State and Maryland and Cincinnati and maybe Virginia and North Carolina, all those right there and our fans can drive to it.
“We’d have a rivalry every year and everybody makes money. Nobody gets fired. Players get good. Then this place will be packed again and we can have — this will be the — how would you call it, the Texas regional. Wouldn’t that be fun? Can we put that together? I’ve got all the ADs out there shaking their head like I’m nuts. I’ve got more time — a lot more time behind me than ahead of me. I want to see us get this thing right before I leave.”