West Virginia has handled its first two tests of the 2026 season, but Rich Rodriguez knows the Mountaineers are about to encounter something entirely different.
WVU will hit the road Saturday for a matchup with No. 25 Virginia, giving Rodriguez’s rebuilt roster its first opportunity against a Power Four opponent this season. One characteristic of the Cavaliers immediately stands out to the West Virginia coach: Virginia has assembled an extraordinarily experienced roster. Rodriguez revealed more while speaking with Bob Hertzel for WV News.
“They might be the most veteran team in the country,” Rodriguez said. “They have two seven-year guys and two six-year guys and a five in the offensive line. It might be the most veteran team by far that we play.”
Rich Rodriguez Points to Virginia’s Remarkable Experience
The numbers help explain Rodriguez’s concern. Virginia entered the week with 31 players who are at least in their fifth season of college football, including an eighth-year player, seven seventh-year players, five sixth-year players and 18 fifth-year players.
The experience is particularly striking along Virginia’s offensive line. Center Drake Metcalf and right tackle Monroe Mills are seventh-year players, while guards Makilan Thomas and Noah Josey are sixth-year players. Fifth-year left tackle McKale Boley is the youngest member of the Cavaliers’ projected starting offensive line.
That group has accumulated 175 combined career starts, according to BlueGoldNews. It gives Virginia the kind of continuity that has become increasingly unusual in college football, particularly during an era in which the transfer portal can completely reshape rosters from one offseason to the next.
“They’ve done a great job of getting their guys in, retaining them and developing them,” Rodriguez said. “Now they’re playing a bunch of grown men, and it shows on film. They’re an experienced team that doesn’t make many mistakes.”
WVU Youth Creates Stark Contrast Before Virginia Matchup
West Virginia provides an interesting contrast as Rodriguez continues building his program. The Mountaineers underwent extensive roster turnover during the offseason and have already trusted several young players with meaningful responsibilities.
However, none of them come close to matching Virginia, whose starting offensive line has an average age approaching 24 years old.
True freshman offensive lineman Kevin Brown provides perhaps the clearest example. Brown became the first WVU true freshman offensive lineman to start a game since future Pittsburgh Steelers center Zach Frazier accomplished the feat in 2020.
Brown’s emergence does not mean he will directly compete against Virginia’s offensive linemen Saturday, but the comparison illustrates how differently the two rosters have been constructed. WVU is finding out what some of its youngest players can become while Virginia is relying heavily on players with several years of college football already behind them.
That difference makes Saturday one of the most revealing early tests of Rodriguez’s return to Morgantown. West Virginia has opened 2-0, but facing an undefeated, nationally ranked Virginia team away from home should provide a much clearer indication of where the Mountaineers stand.
Rodriguez has already identified one of the biggest challenges awaiting them. WVU isn’t simply preparing for No. 25 Virginia. It is preparing for what its head coach believes could be the most veteran team in college football.
Rich Rodriguez Reveals Eye-Opening Reality WVU Faces Against No. 25 Virginia