Jimmori Robinson Remains Sidelined as WVU Awaits Clarity on Eligibility Ruling

A little bit of news dropped at the top of Rich Rodriguez's press conference on Tuesday afternoon as the West Virginia head coach revealed that bandit Jimmori Robinson is still waiting to officially join the team in practice.

"We're still waiting on him. We have our general counsel that's working with the NCAA and the Big 12, and our compliance department to make sure that we're interpreting the judge's order correctly. Obviously, the order was favorable to those guys being able to play, but we're still in the middle of discussing that. Jimmori has not practiced, but the other three are practicing."

WVU athletic director Wren Baker echoed similar sentiments last week following the ruling by Judge John Preston Bailey.

"We’ve engaged the Big 12. I believe they will or have engaged the NCAA to make sure we know what the judge’s ruling is at a high level to make sure we’re interpreting it the right way and that we’re not putting the institution at any risk. I’ll leave the rest of it unsaid because I think we’re still unpacking and assessing and trying to figure out exactly where we are. Once we have clarity on what it all means, then we’ll move forward in a way that doesn’t put the institution at risk.”

If/when Robinson does get the green light, it's going to take some time for him to get acclimated. He's actually got to play in the scheme to feel comfortable with it, but also being game-ready is a much different level of conditioning, as Rodriguez noted.

"I think it's hard for anybody if you haven't had a lot of reps. Everybody's a little bit different — how quickly they learn. Part of it's on coaches. If you've got two days to get a guy ready, work as hard as you can to get him ready. If he's not, then you wait for the next one."

West Virginia will kick the 2025 season off this Saturday against Robert Morris at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

Rich Rodriguez Gave WVU QB Max Brown a Compliment No One Expected

Rich Rodriguez Just Dropped a Stunner About Freshman QB Scotty Fox

Jeff Weimer Missed Camp, but Rodriguez Thinks He’s a 'Plug-and-Play' WR

Between The Eers: Rich Rodriguez Teases West Virginia's QB Plan for 2025

Rich Rodriguez Might Play All Five WVU Quarterbacks and He is Not Joking About It