Major College Football Team Adding 75 New Players Next Season

Rich Rodriguez was announced arsenic West Virginia’s caput coach successful December 2024, opening a 2nd stint aft his successful 2001–07 run.

Rodriguez is wide credited pinch popularizing nan spread-option offense, transforming nan Mountaineers into a high-octane, nationally classed programme during his first tenure. 

That era featured prolific rushing attacks, aggregate BCS appearances, and signature wins, including a Sugar Bowl victory.

That historical tally besides dramatically raised WVU’s nationalist floor plan and sent respective players to nan NFL, which is why expectations spiked instantly erstwhile nan programme brought Rodriguez backmost a twelvemonth ago.

Unfortunately, West Virginia vanished nan 2025 season, nan first nether Rodriguez’s return, astatine 4–8 wide and 2–7 successful Big 12 play, marking nan team’s 2nd consecutive losing play and its worst grounds since 2013.

While nan disappointing 2025 run accelerated transportation portal activity, nan programme has continued to thin heavy connected Rodriguez’s familiarity pinch nan region and his violative personality arsenic nan instauration for a accelerated roster rebuild, 1 that precocious included nan summation of erstwhile Mississippi State tight extremity Cam Ball.

Ball announced his determination to participate nan transportation portal and, pursuing an charismatic visit, committed to West Virginia connected Monday.

The biggest header tied to Ball’s decision, however, is what it represents connected a larger scale: his committedness pushes West Virginia’s 2026 transportation full to 27 players.

When paired pinch nan program’s high-school signing class, reported by 247Sports arsenic 48 players, nan Mountaineers are group to adhd 75 caller players for nan 2026 season, 1 of nan astir melodramatic roster overhauls successful assemblage football.

Some of nan much notable transportation additions West Virginia has secured see WR TaRon Francis (LSU), WR John Neider (UConn), TE Josh Sapp (Clemson), TE Cam Ball (Mississippi State), OL Devin Vass (Kansas State), and CB Maliek Hawkins (Oklahoma), among others.

Several of those additions bring multi-year starting acquisition aliases Power Five résumés to Morgantown.

The early signing class, meanwhile, features a sizable group of four-star prospects, including OT Kevin Brown, S Matt Sieg, RB Amari Latimer, and CB Vincent Smith, on pinch highly regarded three-star recruits specified arsenic QB Jyron Hughley, WR Keon Hutchins, DL Jaylen Thomas, WR Kedrick Triplett, and EDGE Darius Wiley.

In nan short term, nan sheer measurement of additions is striking. 

West Virginia is efficaciously refreshing astir of its roster successful a azygous cycle, a strategy that could accelerate betterment if development, continuity, and retention stabilize nether Rodriguez entering his 2nd play backmost pinch nan program.

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