Rich Rodriguez talks discipline after first spring practice; draws attention to pre-snap penalties

WVU football had its first spring practice yesterday, after what was a long and busy offseason for the program.

Although they still have a long way to go, first-year head coach Rich Rodriguez loved the effort and passion of his team in the first practice. They were eager to get out onto the field but showed it with some discipline issues.

“We had some pre-snap penalties—four or five of those on offense. I am used to going to four to give practices without having one. We got to fix that up front with the big guys,” Rodriguez said.

This is something the team can easily fix, but also something to look out for closer to the season. With a brand new team from top to bottom, penalties may be an issue for the Mountaineers.

“We are still feeling our way through the first practice of getting our timing down. I like the effort from back where I was seeing it,” Rodriguez added.

The new transfer portal period, April 16-25, is creating new challenges for head coaches in these spring practices leading up to the spring game. They need to evaluate talent, while also trying to maintain their current roster. They have to be hard on the team, without making players want to transfer.

This will be an even tougher challenge for Rodriguez who will have less than two months to evaluate every position and every player on the roster. WVU’s spring game will take place on April 27 at Milan Puskar Stadium.