Rich Rodriguez: competition, speed have increased in fall camp
With the caveat in place that West Virginia has yet to don full pads in fall camp, head coach Rich Rodriguez believes there has been good competition at spots all across the roster.
And that’s exactly what he wants to see.
“Way more than the spring. To me it looks like there’s some pretty good position battles going on just about everywhere,” he said. “Now, we haven’t gone live and that will be the real test.”
One of those spots is along the defensive line where West Virginia added a number of players to the mix after the spring which has increased that competitive nature in that room.
“Our competition is so much better than it was three or four months ago. I think competition at every position elevates the guys,” Rodriguez said.
Running back is another position that Rodriguez discussed but there have been some injuries in camp that have sidelined a few players and the Mountaineers are still awaiting word on the eligibility front on Tye Edwards. That left West Virginia to practice with just four Saturday which could force the program to look at outside options to add to the room.
“We may add a guy or two there. We’ve got to have more guys at running back but they’ve done a good job,” Rodriguez said.
The importance of raising the competition level in every room is obvious as it makes the players put their best foot forward each day in practice. Every player has the goal of playing time and the message from Rodriguez and the coaching staff has been to not worry about when they take the field in practice but instead maximize the opportunities that they get.
“I tell the guys don’t worry if you’re first or second out there right now just make sure you’re good enough to win with and get to that point where we’ve got to play you because you’re good enough to win with,” Rodriguez said.
The goal is to have more than two at each position that fits that criteria but in the meantime the focus will be on getting everybody quality reps and a chance to show if they can handle it.
The veteran head coach also believes that the Mountaineers did a good job improving their overall team speed from the spring through a series of personnel moves on top of the work that was done in the summer with the strength and conditioning staff.
And while Rodriguez always believes that speed can be better, there’s been progress in that department across the roster.
“I think our team speed has been pretty good,” he said.
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