During his press conference Thursday afternoon, wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett discussed how important it is to be a versatile athlete as a receiver.
The conversation of versatile athletes began when Garett was asked about Rodney Gallagher III and what he thinks about him so far.
“I found him in a clip of playing basketball, and I like receivers that are athletic and play a lot of other sports,” Garrett said.
Garrett went on to discuss how much other sports translate to the football field, especially the wide receiver position.
“To me, if you’re an elite athlete, which the wideouts need to be the best athletes on the field, they’ve got to be able to run fast, they’ve got to be able to jump the high point of the ball, they’ve got to be strong, they’ve got to be able to get in and out of breaks,” Garrett said. “That transitions into specifically basketball and track, and a lot of the times playing outfield in baseball I think is a good sign.”
Having worked with head coach Rich Rodriguez at both Ole Miss and Jacksonville State, Garrett is no stranger to the hard edge mindset that Rodriguez preaches. Garrett talked about this when he was asked about the traits he wants in a receiver.
“Toughness first and foremost. You know we’re going to play with a hard edge. I’m sure you guys have heard that a million times in here, but when I’m recruiting a receiver I’m looking for guys that can run downfield and catch the ball period. We’re not recruiting guys that have potential, we want production,” Garrett said. “As a receivers coach, I get frustrated sometimes I think with the media or with social media, people thinking that receivers are kind of pre- Madonna pretty boys. That’s not how we’re going to play.”
By valuing multi-sport athletes and prioritizing production over potential, Garrett looks to build a dynamic wide receiver room for the Mountaineers.
