Big Year Incoming? Don't Sleep on Rodney Gallagher III in 2025

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated May 25, 2025 9:17 AM ET

Every year, I study the film of each high school recruit who signs with West Virginia, and there are very few where I walk away thinking, without a doubt, this kid is going to be a star.

Wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III was one of them.

I'm pretty harsh in my evaluations and try not to think every four-star or big-stat recruit is going to be the next legendary player in Morgantown.

Now, I'm not going to put the unfair expectation of becoming legendary on Gallagher, but I do believe this is the season where he turns the corner and proves me (and many others) right. He's going to turn into a star. How big of one remains to be seen.

Why am I confident this is where it happens?

No. 1: Rich Rodriguez

Rich Rod has a knack for finding ways to get his best athletes the football. Sounds like a pretty easy task, right? Not exactly. Gallagher was misused under the previous regime, primarily serving as a gadget receiver used on jetsweeps, screens, and quick outs. They failed to get him the football and didn't really allow him to run actual routes downfield. Rodriguez will fix that. Yes, he'll still be involved in the underneath game, but they will expand his route tree, which will expand his role.

No. 2: Full attention on developing at receiver

Last year, Gallagher played some nickel due to the Mountaineers' lack of depth in the secondary. The previous staff did a poor job of recruiting and developing the back end, so they had to sprinkle in some snaps for Gallagher to help out. No, it wasn't a heavy workload, but it took away from spending all of his time and energy developing as a receiver. Remember, Gallagher played quarterback in high school, so the whole receiver thing is still kind of new to him. Rodriguez made it clear that he won't be a two-way player moving forward.

No. 3: Competition breeds success

Let's be honest, the Mountaineers had virtually no depth at receiver over the last couple of years, particularly at the slot. Gallagher will bounce outside every once in a while, but much of his snaps will be taken at the slot. This offseason, WVU added Oran Singleton Jr. (Eastern Michigan), Jarod Bowie (Jacksonville State), and Cyrus Traugh (Youngstown State), along with a couple of freshmen. Now that others are pushing for playing time, it will only help Gallagher push harder to reach that next level.