In yesterday’s spring practice press conference, Rich Rodriguez did not hold back when discussing what he plans to do in fourth- down situations. Rodriguez is setting up an offense that looks to be aggressive and fourth down is no exception.
“If it’s across midfield and it’s fourth and short we will probably go for it,” said Rodriguez.
This is similar to the philosophy of former Mountaineer head coach Neal Brown. West Virginia had countless drives last season where they would go for it on fourth and short and sometimes even fourth and long on either side of the field. However, this was Coach Brown’s undoing as he would go for a fourth down conversion inside of his own territory and when they did not convert he would set the opponents up in prime scoring position.
Coach Rodriguez looks to consistently go for fourth down conversions on fourth and short and says if he does not then there could be a problem.
“I don’t think I’ve ever punt inside the 40-yard line,” said Rodriguez. “Going in on a normal down and distance, check my pulse because I’ve probably passed out on the sidelines or something.” Rodriguez finishes his thought by stating, “We’re gonna go for it 100% of the time inside the forty.”
This is an aggressive form of football that many teams are not used to facing and luckily for the Mountaineers, they have a seasoned veteran in that area of expertise who has had plenty of attempts and situations that have shown what works and what does not work.
So it is safe to say, that the Mountaineers will be attempting many conversions on fourth downs this upcoming season, if they do end up within the forty-yard line and decide to punt then fans should consider calling an ambulance or checking in on Coach Rodriguez as passivity is not in this coach’s vocabulary.
