Rich Rod Reveals Which WVU Freshmen Could See the Field This Fall

West Virginia will be a much-improved team in 2026, simply because it will have more experience on its roster. They will have more guys on both sides of the ball who have logged snaps at the collegiate level compared to what they put on the field a year ago.

That said, it's still a fairly young team, and more than a handful of freshmen are likely to carve out a role, some of whom will be starters. During his press conference on Wednesday night, WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez rattled off a bunch of freshmen who will either definitely play this year or have a chance to.

“Vicent (Smith) is going to have a great career here. Matt Sieg is playing well. He’s in the rotation. Amari Latimer, we thought he’d be able to play as a freshman, and he’ll play as a freshman. Kevin Brown, we thought would play as a freshman, and he’ll play as a freshman. Those young secondary guys are all going to be really good players. Some of them may play this year; I don’t know there. All the secondary positions are kind of up for grabs. It’s not just Vincent (Smith). The hardest positions to play as a freshman is quarterback and o-line. Jyron Hughley is a true freshman who has gotten better every day, and I think he’s going to have a great future here. You mentioned Kevin Brown. There’s another freshman, Lamarcus Dillard, on the o-line. He’s going to play as a freshman. Aidan Woods is another freshman on the offensive line; I think he’ll play some as a freshman as well. Kade Bush at tight end. Kade has really had a good last week or so, and with the injuries to some of the other tight ends, Cam (Ball) and Carter (Zuliani) being out, Kade’s got a lot of reps. I'm sure I'm leaving off somebody, but that's alright."

Others who will likely play that Rod didn't mention

Running back Chris Talley is definitely in the mix and could end up being the third option for the Mountaineers this fall. At the very least, he will split those duties with JUCO transfer Martavious Boswell.

Fellow running back Lawrence Autry could work his way into some carries as well once he returns from injury. Rich Rod said that he is currently banged up and will be out for a couple of weeks, but had been playing well. The same goes for wide receiver Landon Drumm, who is currently dealing with a knee injury.

Defensive lineman Yendor Mack is one to watch as we get deeper into the season. He may have some opportunities in the first two weeks of the season, but we may not see him again until later in the year when things really slow down for him.

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