Rich Rodriguez met with the media on Wednesday and gave an update on where he believes his team stands after the conclusion of one of the last spring practices before the team heads home for spring break.
Rodriguez started off his press conference talking about the offensive line, a group that he believes still needs some work but will ultimately end up where he wants them based on talent and athleticism.
“Still a work in progress, that’s a good group of guys, a lot of good coaches. It’s still an area of concern just because of the lack of experience,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez then shifted his focus to the defensive line, another position he believes he can add depth to during the second round of the transfer portal. Rodriguez said that the defensive line has more experience than the offensive line but is still not returning players with a lot of experience.
“Hammond Russell has played a little bit. Asani (Redwood) has played a little bit. Eddie’s (Vesterinen) playing, he’s been a little limited, but he’s the one guy who has the most experience probably,” Rodriguez said.
Edward Vesterinen went down early last year with an injury that sidelined him for the entire 2024 season; he was cleared for a medical redshirt and will be back with the team for his final season.
“Jimmori Robinson has been limited the last week or two, but we’ve seen flashes from him,” Rodriguez said.
Rich Rodriguez believes that the second round of the transfer portal is a crucial time for the Mountaineers to address the needs that they weren’t able to fill in the first round, he mentioned that they will need to fill depth pieces everywhere besides the quarterback position.
“We didn’t get all of our needs addressed in the first portal, in the second portal there is less available, but there is still going to be a handful that we will try to get, to get some competition, and address where were lacking in depth,” Rodriguez said.
The team is set for one more practice tomorrow before they head home for spring break.
