WVU 'Fully Expects' Rodney Gallagher to Play on Both Sides of the Ball

West Virginia may have the next two-way star on their hands.

Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Back in the spring, West Virginia toyed with the idea of throwing sophomore wide receiver Rodney Gallagher III on defense to see if he could potentially play both sides of the ball. Head coach Neal Brown and defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley were pleased with what he showed and felt like he could do it, if needed.

Gallagher was also seen fielding some punts at yesterday's practice, finding yet another way to get him on the field. According to Neal Brown, he'll be their second option there behind Preston Fox who may be one of the nation's best returners. Brown discussed Gallagher's workload on Wednesday and confirmed the plan for him to play both ways.

“Returning-wise, he’s probably another year away from that if we stay healthy. But he’s definitely our second guy back there at the punt return. I’m really proud of how he’s really matured and improved and taken on that responsibility. The first four days we didn’t do a whole lot with him on defense. This week, we’ve amped it up and fully expect him to play snaps on both sides of the ball.”

Brown made it very clear back in the spring that Gallagher will be a receiver first and has made a lot of progress since the end of last season. If and when he is featured at nickel, we're talking somewhere in the neighborhood of six to ten snaps, at most.

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