After nearly two decades away, the West Virginia family welcomed Rich Rodriguez back to Morgantown with enthusiasm. His first season was challenging, as he had to piece together a roster during one of the most chaotic periods in college football. But heading into this year, help arrived from an unlikely source.

Former Mountaineer star and media personality Pat McAfee stepped up for his alma mater, using his platform and connections to help bring in NIL support and give WVU a much-needed boost in rebuilding its roster.

“I went out to Omaha with Pat, and they had that one bar that was trying to have a competition for Jell-O shots or whatever,” Rodriguez told On3. “And I stood by Pat’s side the whole time so he wouldn’t write a check for them. I was trying to get him to write a check for us, and hung out at the bar with him for two hours just to convince him. I said, ‘Hey, listen, I know the Jell-O shot thing might be fun, but I need a three-technique.’”

West Virginia saw many fresh faces and injuries suffered along the way by the end of last year’s season. Punter and kicker Pat McAfee has emerged as the booster for WVU. One incident that McAfee opened up about happened last year, when a donor didn’t come through in full on NIL payments; he covered it.

McAfee recalled Rich Rodriguez reaching out to him when a major donor backed off a donation that was urgently needed the next day to meet commitments to an athlete. Well, it was unsurprising that McAfee quickly donated the money to his college coach.

“I just wanted to help the program,” McAfee said.

McAfee pledged a $1 million blanket donation to the Country Road Trust collective, setting a new fundraising milestone. The NIL money helped address the roster’s desperate need with Mike Hawkins Jr., dynamic running back Cam Cook, and highly rated recruits Matt Sieg and Kevin Brown.

How was Rich Rodriguez’s first season back at WVU?

Rich Rodriguez’s return home had a rocky start; his season ended with a difficult and frustrating 4-8 campaign. The Mountaineers dropped to 13th in the Big 12, with a significant hole on offense. The 49-0 blowout loss at home to Texas Tech was one dent in his homecoming. But it was not all wrong; Rodriguez managed to pull a victory in the Backyard Brawl against rival Pittsburgh with a 31-24.

“Rich Rodriguez learned that the reality of returning home is more challenging than the dream of it. In a much-publicized return to the school where he won 60 games in seven seasons the first time around, Rodriguez’s Mountaineers 2.0 looked overwhelmed, and a long way away from truly competing in the Big 12,” CBS Sports’ John Talty said.

The offense has had massive roster upgrades with the return of another legendary offensive line coach, Rick Trickett, to Morgantown. While they struggled with the roster last year, this time, there is a QB competition. Transfer quarterbacks Mike Hawkins Jr. and Max Brown are neck and neck to land the QB1 position. Hawkins Jr. is a dynamic dual-threat runner and passer, and for Brown, he’s been pushing hard, too.