The Joke is Over: Rich Rod is Looking in the Transfer Portal After Day Two of Camp

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Jul 31, 2025 2:39 PM ET

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez appeared to be pretty pleased with how things went on day one of fall camp, aside from having way too many players cramping, specifically the receivers. Today, well, he was not what you would call a "happy camper."

He told reporters after practice that only two running backs finished the entire practice without having to come off the field to get checked by the training staff or to get a breather. It may only be day two, but it's hard for him to run his offense with just a couple of running backs being available from start to finish for every rep.

"I told those two, ‘That’s pretty good.’ There’s still 4,000 kids in the portal, isn’t there? I got a recruiting staff. I mean, I got a big ole recruiting staff and they do a really nice job. They’re still looking. We ain’t got a game. School don’t start for a couple weeks. I have a spot or two open, I’m just saying.

“If we had no medical trainers, we probably would have zero injuries because they had nobody to go to. We got 30 of them," Rodriguez continued. "So they’re like, ‘Oh, where’s the trainer at?’ I got a great training staff, but I’m just saying, like, what running backs finished the entire practice without tapping out somewhere? Two... Two. Now, I can play a game without running backs. I could run the quarterback or slot receiver, but I don’t want to. I’ve always had really good running backs, and I’ve got good running backs here. I got a good group, but we finished with two. So you think I’m not going to talk to my recruiting staff this afternoon? We’re running a business. It helps to have some running backs.”

On Wednesday, he brought the portal up in a joking manner. Today, however, the tone appeared to be more serious in that if they don't get the type of effort or production they're looking for, they're not opposed to adding one or two more players to the roster.

For the running backs in particular, it would also help if Northern Iowa transfer Tye Edwards were cleared and able to practice, but for now, he has to continue doing work on his own while awaiting a ruling from the NCAA on an extra year of eligibility.