West Virginia football has had an almost complete turnaround in the last few months, but wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III is one of the players who never left the Mountaineers.
In two seasons under Neal Brown, Gallagher had 36 receptions for 362 yards and began to show his potential towards the end of the season. He needed to make a hard decision in the offseason about his future.
“I wasn’t planning on doing anything because I had to meet 1 on 1 with Rich Rod. His plans were great for me, and I had no intention to leave,” Gallagher said.
With spring practice almost a month in, Gallagher has had a chance to evaluate Rich Rodriguez and his staff. All players still have a chance to enter the transfer portal on Apr. 16, and it is important for Rodriguez to show his players what he can bring to the table.
“Rich Rod has taught me a lot about having confidence and looking towards the future on how to be a better player. With him being honest every single day and just trying to strive to be a better team, it took a different outlook for me,” Gallagher said. “I love this staff. I love the hard edge. I love the hard work. Everybody is getting pushed, and that is what I love about it. At the end of the day they just want us to be great,” he added.
Before coming to West Virginia, Rich Rodriguez has always been known as a hard-nosed coach who will push his players every day. He is bringing that same mentality here in hopes of becoming a playoff team in the future.
It will be interesting to see what players hit the portal on the 16th for the Mountaineers, but it sounds as though Gallagher and others may be here to stay.
