West Virginia is personal to Rich Rodriguez
West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez couldn’t help but soak in the moment as the tradition he started played out inside Milan Puskar Stadium.
Soaking in Country Roads tradition
As the crowd joined in on the signing of Country Roads, Rodriguez couldn’t help but reflect on the road that brought him back to Morgantown 17 years after he first exited.
“The great tradition in college sports, signing Country Roads after a win,” he said. A lot of the crowd was still here, the student section. Wasn’t the weather nice?”
The attendance for the opener was 57,093, and the head coach was complimentary of the fan base and how they turned out for the Robert Morris game.
“Great crowd dressed in gold, into the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t give them enough good moments in the first half but I thought West Virginia fans showed up today,” he said.
Crowd support reinforces Rodriguez’s message
It was something that stood out to Rodriguez given the message that he tries to get across to his players about representing the state’s flagship university.
“I know our players really appreciate that. I tell them that West Virginia football is really important to a lot of people, to a lot of people. And when you get a crowd like this today and into it like they were today it backs up those words,” he said.
Rodriguez then expressed his appreciation for being given the opportunity to return to coach the Mountaineers both to the administration and the university.
“To give us another opportunity to come back and build the best program in America. We have a long way to go before we do that but that’s our mission. That’s what we’re going to do and we’re going to work hard to do that,” he said.
Coaching at home carries deeper meaning
The veteran coach was admittedly a little nervous in the build-up to the opener with so many new faces both coaches and players due to the unknown. But for Rodriguez his return to West Virginia is personal because of his ties to the Mountain State and having both played and coached here before.
“You don’t want to disappoint everybody. I remember when I was here the first time it was like every time we didn’t play well it’s like I let down the whole state. Every friend of mine and relative of mine,” he said. “I feel like that a little bit at some of my other jobs but not nearly like I feel at this job because this is home. When we don’t play well or represent as well as we can on the field it is a lot more personal to me and I don’t know if that will ever change.”
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