Rich Rodriguez Sends Strong Message: 'If You're Not All In, You Need to Leave'

Things have not gone all that well for West Virginia through the first five games of the 2025 season. Winning the Backyard Brawl, especially in the fashion that they won it, was certainly a memorable moment. Aside from that, it's been a flat-out disappointment.

It took the Mountaineers over a half to get separation from Robert Morris in Week 1; they lost to Ohio, and have been out-scored in Big 12 play, 89-24, through the first two games.

It's that time of year when self-redshirting becomes a very real thing as players who have yet to play in more than four games start to wonder if continuing to play is the best thing for them, especially if they're on a team that's really struggling or is falling way short of preseason expectations.

WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez wasn't asked about this directly during his radio show on Monday night, but he did bring up having complete buy-in and how it's a non-negotiable.

"I do think we're aligned as far as university support. We're aligned with fan support, of course. And we're aligned with the staff and the guys that we have. We don't hold anything back. I told our players, if you're not all in, you need to leave. And if I sense anybody not completely in — staff, player-wise, whatever — then you won't be in. They understand that, so if they're not in, they're going to have to fake it real good. I don't wake up every day trying to find somebody that ain't in. I just want to make sure we're all rowing the boat in the same direction, pulling the rope the same direction, and we will be."

For this team to pull itself up off the mat and keep fighting for better results, they need to have complete buy-in. If just one player or coach isn't all on board, that can be enough to create a fracture in the culture, which is not acceptable. Rodriguez cares too much about winning to let those folks, if there are any, hang around.