A genuine redemption arc, on the record
Rodriguez has publicly called leaving WVU for Michigan in 2007 "a mistake" — his return carries real emotional stakes for the program and fanbase, not just an ordinary coaching hire.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 16 OF 16
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
2026 Season Snapshot • Morgantown, West Virginia
6-6
BIG 12
2026 Schedule
Live schedule, lines and results for West Virginia.
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HEAD COACH
HANDICAPPING PROFILEHEAD COACH
Rich Rodriguez — 2nd season at West Virginia (2nd stint)
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
194–137–2 (30+ seasons, multiple programs)
Built West Virginia into a Big East power in his first stint (60-26, four conference titles, 2001-07) with the legendary Pat White/Steve Slaton duo before controversially leaving for Michigan — a decision he publicly called "a mistake" upon his 2024 return. Also coached at Michigan, Arizona, Ole Miss (OC), and Jacksonville State (ASUN/C-USA titles) before coming home.
WEST VIRGINIA ATS RECORD
No single published career ATS figure
2025 finished 6-6 in Rodriguez's first season back, capped by a Frisco Bowl appearance against Memphis. A genuinely emotional homecoming season complicated by a rash of quarterback injuries that left the Mountaineers down to their third and fourth options by season's end.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$3.6M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Not disclosed
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
Country Roads Trust
Coach salary per ESPN/247Sports (5-yr, $18.5M deal, $3.5M base in 2025 rising to $3.9M by 2029, plus a $5M annual assistant coach pool and $2.5M support-staff pool). West Virginia paid Jacksonville State a $1.25M buyout to hire Rodriguez. West Virginia has not disclosed a team NIL figure; Country Roads Trust is the program's booster-funded collective.
HANDICAPPING NOTES
- A genuine redemption arc, on the record: Rodriguez has publicly called leaving WVU for Michigan in 2007 "a mistake" — his return carries real emotional stakes for the program and fanbase, not just an ordinary coaching hire.
- Historic roster turnover in year two: 50 players entered the portal and 34 transfers arrived this offseason — a near-total roster reconstruction, including losing all four 2025 QB options (Marchiol, Henderson, Wilkins, and depth) to transfer or injury attrition.
- QB1 arrives from a direct Big 12 rival: Michael Hawkins Jr. (Oklahoma transfer) heads a completely rebuilt quarterback room after West Virginia was down to a walk- on emergency option by the end of 2025 — real, specific proof of how thin the position got.
COORDINATORS & SCHEME
OFFENSE / DEFENSEOFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Rich Rodriguez (play-caller) • Spread option
Rodriguez calls his own plays, running the same spread-option system that produced Pat White and Steve Slaton in his first stint. Built around Cam Cook (Jacksonville State transfer, led all of FBS in rushing in 2025) after West Virginia's entire 2025 backfield — Jahiem White, Diore Hubbard, Cyncir Bowers, Clay Ash — departed via the portal.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Zac Alley — 2nd season • Multiple
Enters year two of his system after helping stabilize a defense through a chaotic, injury-riddled 2025 season; the clearest coordinator continuity on a roster that turned over nearly everywhere else.
2025 SEASON RECAP
RECORD & VENUE NOTES2025 RECORD
6–6
Frisco Bowl vs. Memphis. A quarterback room decimated by injury (down to a walk-on emergency option against TCU) defined Rodriguez's emotional first season back in Morgantown.
HOME FIELD
Milan Puskar Stadium
Artificial turf (FieldTurf), Morgantown. The site of Rodriguez's original glory years (2001-07) and now his second chance to build something lasting — a program with real sentimental stakes attached to this era.
PRIMARY SKILL PLAYERS
2026 PROJECTED STARTERS| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Michael Hawkins Jr. | RS-Soph | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER Four-star signee (Emerson HS, McKinney, Texas; chose Oklahoma over TCU, Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan). Oklahoma transfer; the leading candidate in a completely rebuilt QB room after West Virginia's entire 2025 QB group (Marchiol, Henderson, Wilkins) departed via transfer or exhausted eligibility. |
| RB1 | Cam Cook | Sr | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER Four-star signee (Stony Point HS, Round Rock, Texas). Jacksonville State transfer (by way of TCU) who led all of FBS in rushing in 2025 (1,659 yds, 16 TD, CUSA Player of the Year); the clear workhorse for an entirely rebuilt backfield after West Virginia's whole 2025 RB room left via the portal. |
| WR1 | Room rebuilt | — | ★★★★★ | West Virginia loses Cam Vaughn (to Miami) and Rodney Gallagher III (to Arizona), its top two 2025 targets; confirm specific 2026 starters closer to Week 1 as the portal-built room comes together. |
QB1Michael Hawkins Jr.RS-Soph★★★★★
TOP TRANSFER
Four-star signee (Emerson HS, McKinney, Texas; chose Oklahoma over TCU, Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan). Oklahoma transfer; the leading candidate in a completely rebuilt QB room after West Virginia's entire 2025 QB group (Marchiol, Henderson, Wilkins) departed via transfer or exhausted eligibility.
RB1Cam CookSr★★★★★
TOP TRANSFER
Four-star signee (Stony Point HS, Round Rock, Texas). Jacksonville State transfer (by way of TCU) who led all of FBS in rushing in 2025 (1,659 yds, 16 TD, CUSA Player of the Year); the clear workhorse for an entirely rebuilt backfield after West Virginia's whole 2025 RB room left via the portal.
WR1Room rebuilt—★★★★★
West Virginia loses Cam Vaughn (to Miami) and Rodney Gallagher III (to Arizona), its top two 2025 targets; confirm specific 2026 starters closer to Week 1 as the portal-built room comes together.
OFFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line rebuilt via portal | OL | — | ★★★★★ | Part of the 34-player transfer class brought in to replace significant offensive line turnover; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1. |
Line rebuilt via portalOL—★★★★★
Part of the 34-player transfer class brought in to replace significant offensive line turnover; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1.
HANDICAPPING NOTE — O-LINE
- Protecting a brand-new starting QB behind a mostly-new offensive line is real, compounding risk — treat West Virginia's offensive line as a genuine unknown into the season.
DEFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Hammond Russell IV | DT | Returning veteran anchor who battled injury in 2025; part of a defensive front with real continuity under second-year DC Zac Alley. |
Hammond Russell IVDT
Returning veteran anchor who battled injury in 2025; part of a defensive front with real continuity under second-year DC Zac Alley.
LINEBACKERS
2026 PROJECTED- Ben Cutter returns as a key returning piece at linebacker, giving DC Zac Alley's second-year system real continuity even as the offense rebuilds almost entirely from scratch.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary under Alley | DB | ★★★★★ | Benefits from Zac Alley's second-year coordinator continuity; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed as fall camp settles the rotation. |
Secondary under AlleyDB★★★★★
Benefits from Zac Alley's second-year coordinator continuity; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed as fall camp settles the rotation.
SPECIAL TEAMS
KICKING, PUNTING & RETURN GAME- Punter: Oliver Straw returns as a experienced specialist, one of the more stable pieces on a roster that turned over nearly everywhere else. Overall: No other major storylines flagged for a program in the midst of the most extensive roster rebuild in the Big 12 this cycle.
Betting profile — vs. the number
2025 ATS
7-5
58.3% cover rate — 26th of 82
2025 Straight up
4-8
Point differential -109
Scoring environment
52.6
Combined points per game — 38th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
4-2 · 3-3
Totals 6-6 O/U (2-4 home, 4-2 road)
Points scored / allowed
21.8 per game scored (68th) · 30.8 allowed (70th)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory -9.1 (73rd) · Strength of schedule +4.2
- Home / road: Home 4-2 ATS, road 3-3 ATS (neutral-site games excluded).
- Home / road: Totals 6-6 O/U — 2-4 at home, 4-2 on the road.
- Trend: 2025 ATS 7-5 (58.3% cover rate) across 12 games.
- Trend: Averaged 21.8 points and allowed 30.8, a 52.6 combined per-game scoring environment.
Power ratings — strength against the field
SRS power rating
-3.3
57th of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
-2.4
54th of 82
Defensive SRS
-3.1
62nd of 82
Points (margin of victory)
-9.1 · 73rd of 82
Against the spread
7-5 (58.3%) · 26th of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
52.6 · 38th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Notes
Saved Just J research for West Virginia.
Quarterback
Historic roster turnover in year two
50 players entered the portal and 34 transfers arrived this offseason — a near-total roster reconstruction, including losing all four 2025 QB options (Marchiol, Henderson, Wilkins, and depth) to transfer or injury attrition.
Quarterback
QB1 arrives from a direct Big 12 rival
Michael Hawkins Jr. (Oklahoma transfer) heads a completely rebuilt quarterback room after West Virginia was down to a walk- on emergency option by the end of 2025 — real, specific proof of how thin the position got.
Offensive Line
Offensive line outlook
Protecting a brand-new starting QB behind a mostly-new offensive line is real, compounding risk — treat West Virginia's offensive line as a genuine unknown into the season.
Notes are maintained in the Admin area — no code changes required.