As WVU Football enters the 2026 season, head coach Rich Rodriguez believes the Mountaineers have built a roster defined by the competition.
Speaking at Big 12 Football Media Days earlier Wednesday afternoon, Rodriguez highlighted the work done by his staff in rebuilding the roster through the transfer portal while creating competition at nearly every position. Read more: Rich Rodriguez says WVU built 2026 roster around competition, production.
“We were able to get competition at just about every position,” Rodriguez said. “We looked for more production as opposed to potential. I thought our staff did a good job with that. The returning players that we have coming back have done a great job of helping us reestablish the culture. I feel pretty confident that we’re better all the way around.”
A new-look roster built around competition
West Virginia underwent another significant roster overhaul this offseason, adding nearly 80 new players after losing a large senior class from a season ago.
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Rodriguez said the focus this time around was not simply adding talent, but finding players who had already proven themselves on the field.
“We wanted guys that had production, not potential,” Rodriguez said. “Guys that have been very productive, whether it’s at a Group of Five school or what have you, that started and played in college games and wanted to try to play at the highest level.”
Finding proven production through the portal
One of the biggest areas of focus heading into fall camp will be the quarterback position, where sophomore Scotty Fox and Oklahoma transfer QB Michael Hawkins Jr. are expected to compete for the starting job.
Fox saw early playing time as a true freshman last season, where he showed flashes while learning Rodriguez’s offense. Fox became the first true freshman QB to start at the position since 1952. As well as helped lead the Mountaineers to their first-ranked road win at Houston last season.
Hawkins, who transferred from the SEC, impressed the coaching staff during the spring, and brings a different skill set to the competition.
The battle for QB1: Fox vs. Hawkins
“Scotty coming back, he played as a really young true freshman last year and competed well,” Rodriguez said. “He’s gotten better. But we wanted a guy that we think can compete for the starting job and maybe take us to another whole level, and that was Mike Hawkins.”
Rodriguez said the biggest takeaway from both quarterbacks during the spring was their ability to make quick decisions.
“The thing that I thought was most impressive with Mike and Scotty both in the spring is their decisiveness,” Rodriguez said. “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.”
With fall camp approaching, Rodriguez believes the competition throughout the roster, especially at quarterback, will push the Mountaineers forward.
“I’m excited about those two leading the charge there,” Rodriguez said. “But I also think we were able to get competition at just about every position.”
With Big 12 Media Days in the books, the focus turns to fall camp. It all culminates with the first game of the season, when WVU takes on Coastal Carolina September 5.
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