If you have ever suited up for West Virginia football under Rich Rodriguez, you would know the iconic mantra. It wasn’t just a slogan, not even close to a rally cry, but rather a marching order that moulded every practice rep on the turf. Mountaineers alum Pat McAfee recalled the saying to be “Spot the ball, and get the f— out of the way.” Nostalgic, yeah? Cold and unforgiving. A blunt order to reset, refocus, and get back to the trenches. You line it up and go at it again. No excuses. These three words are what shaped Rodriguez’s brand. His ‘hard edge’, coupled with his demanding drills, extracting the absolute best from his roster… and the staff.

Returning to West Virginia after a successful stint at Jacksonville State, Rodriguez is tasked with rebooting the roster. Or a better wording would be building up the 50+ added players from the transfer portal into a robust unit. And while on the sidelines, he is absolutely spitting fire at his players and staff alike. A clip from West Virginia’s rep drills, posted by WDTV 5 reporter Cam Murray, has gotten McAfee’s attention. Coach Rod is back at it, firing fiery command, as McAfee described it, “Richard’s aura is all the way back.” to his players. “To me… this looks like Coach Rod thinks of old stripes needs to spot the ball a little bit more efficiently and or accurately. Could be wrong… but I know he definitely doesn’t want to hear an excuse about it either…’Don’t p— down my back and tell me it’s raining.'”

He further went down the memory lane to paint us a picture of Rod Rodriguez’s ‘hard edge’ playbook. “We’re going to tell these refs to spot the ball and get the f— out of the way, because we’re running like that. We’re running fast, and we’re beating people up. So the equipment manager has to be the ref. Need you to spot the ball.”

Drawing from lived experience, he again painted the atmosphere at the turf, succinctly describing it as “Fantastic wizardry of words is what Rich Rod’s able to do.” He also quoted Rich Rodriguez from a book. “We got D1 athletes. Okay, we’re paying these dogs here to be here. You equipment manager, may have never played in your life. Okay, you got to get in there and get the hell out of the way. While these dudes are exhausted, puking, running at each other spot the ball, get the f— out of the way.”

When McAfee spotted it again, even in practice form, it wasn’t just nostalgia packed in a nutshell; it was a reminder. A question, or a hope, that the edge WVU had back then can still be found today, ‘IF’ the culture takes hold again. But more importantly, his return, back to the Mountaineers, is his shot at redemption.

Memory a bit hazy? Never mind, it’s been around two decades since the ‘dreadful night in 2007’. Then, the Mountaineers rocked at rank 2 in the country. A favourite to land the national championship game. But, only if it were all merry.  They lost the Backyard Brawl to Pittsburgh, 13-9. When Rodriguez joined the Mountaineers in 2001, he was a hit, leading them to three top-10 finishes in the AP poll. But the night of 2007 shattered the dream of going to the national championship. Soon after that, he got an offer from the Wolverines, and he bid adieu. Now, he is back and is reclaiming the turf.

Rich Rodriguez comes back to Morgantown

Rich Rodriguez stepped foot on the Mountaineer field at 17 years old, only to return at 38 to become its head coach. A full circle moment, isn’t it? But then, after six years and an almost successful record, except for the night of the Backyard Brawl, he left Morgantown for the Wolverines. Now, at the ripe age of 61, he is back and nostalgic.

“It’s kind of natural to have some nostalgia about when we were here the first time, and some of the success we had probably [had] a part in me getting back here the second time,” Rodriguez recalled, tracing his footsteps back to West Virginia, per ESPN. And as his former students recall, nothing has changed about Rodriguez’s ways. “Zero has changed about Coach Rod,” his former student and assistant QB coach Pat White said.

And as the 2025 season inches closer, the head coach has found himself grappling with some good problems. Good? Well, the QB1 battle is brewing at Morgantown. “All of our quarterbacks can really throw the ball. We’re repping five guys — all five can really throw it. I’ve never had that many that could throw it that well, as far as arm strength goes, and all that,” Rich Rodriguez said per Sports Illustrated. A stacked QB depth chart indeed. And the contenders? Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson, Max Brown, Khalil Wilkins, and Scotty Fox Jr. So, aside from the QB battle, the next most obvious question is: Will Rodriguez’s second-time charm work?