Three Reasons Why WVU May Air It Out More Than You Expect in 2025

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 2:58 PM ET

Running the football is Rich Rodriguez's bread and butter. It's something his offenses have been known for at virtually every stop throughout his coaching career.

Inserting Jahiem White into this system feels like a perfect match, which is why expectations for him locally and nationally are sky high. But don't be surprised if Rodriguez drops back to throw it more in 2025 than you're expecting.

In fact, he hinted at that being the case in Monday's press conference.

“Probably. I think if we’re looking at our strengths, what we have personnel-wise and not just because we’re younger or new up front, we’re putting a lot more pass plays in than run plays. When we pare this thing down, I’m not worried about 50% pass plays, 50% run plays. I’m worried about these are the plays we can execute.”

If you look at the play-selection percentages throughout Rodriguez's career, you'll notice he's had a fairly heavy lean to the run at every stop with the exception of Glenville State back in 1996. His former quarterback and one of my teammates on the In the Gun podcast, Jed Drenning, came in with a dynamite assist, mining through the play-call percentages, including his stints as an offensive coordinator.

Now, don't be misguided by me saying they'll throw the ball more than you expect. It's not going to be Dana Holgorsen's Air Raid approach, nor anything in that neighborhood. But the staff is confident in what they have in the quarterbacks' room, and as Rich Rod stated on Monday, all five quarterbacks can make every single throw, which is something he's never had before.

Right now, the most critical part of developing the passing game is the quarterbacks having their eyes in the right place, pre-snap and post-snap.

“I still think our quarterbacks are looking at our guys too much instead of looking at their guys when they’re throwing," Rodriguez said Tuesday afternoon. "If it’s man coverage, that’s fine. Look at our guys. But if it’s a zone coverage, you better have your eyes on what they’re doing and trust that our guys will be where they’re supposed to be. I think that’s pretty typical when you’re in a new system. You want to make sure all your guys are in the right spot and all that.”

The other piece of this is that the running back room has been a little beat up at the start of camp, making for a thin rotation. When you combine that with the offensive line still trying to find its footing as a unit, the ground game may not be as dynamic out of the shoot as we expect, leading to more opportunities to air it out.