Will WVU's Rodney Gallagher III Return to Two-Way Role After Bye?

Neal Brown details the plan for the Mountaineer sophomore athlete.

Ben Queen-Imagn Images

The Kansas game was a bit of a changeup for West Virginia wide receiver/defensive back Rodney Gallagher III due to only playing one side of the ball.

Fellow receiver Preston Fox was a gametime decision and didn't appear in the game until after the weather delay where he fielded two punts. Knowing that Fox was unlikely to have much of a role in the game, in addition to Justin Robinson being ruled out, the staff only practiced Gallagher at receiver throughout the week. It just so happened that Gallagher came up clutch when the Mountaineers needed it most. He hauled in the 15-yard touchdown reception from Garrett Greene to put West Virginia ahead with just 27 seconds to go., which would ultimately be the game-winner.

Although Gallagher has made strides at receiver and will continue to be a key part of the offense moving forward, WVU head coach Neal Brown says the plan is to continue playing him on defense coming out of the bye week.

“I think we’ll get back this week and start working him back on defense. He’s going to play offense too. I mean, he’s done a nice job with the ball in his hands. He had two nice runs, had a great punt return. But we’ll get him back into the defensive rotation this week and with the expectation we’ll get some of our receivers back too.”

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