WVU and the NFL Draft; Will RichRod turn the Mountaineer fortunes around?

It’s easy to say rehired WVU football coach Rich Rodriguez’s No. 1 job is to win.
It’s also easy to say he needs good players to do so.
Yet perhaps his biggest task is turning around the slump the Mountaineers are in regarding the NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday. Because that begets the winning.
A little history lesson. Among all schools all-time, West Virginia sits but No. 47 with 199 players drafted, right below Washington State’s 201. Notre Dame tops the list with a whopping 532 with USC (530) and Ohio State (489) trailing.
And the Neal Brown era in Morgantown didn’t help with that.
This week, of course, WVU offensive lineman Wyatt Milum, whose draft stock has fallen a bit, is expected to be selected. ESPN’s Jeff Legwold has him as the No. 80 overall prospect. CBS Sports has him No. 60 overall. PFF has him as the No. 12 offensive tackle and No. 91 overall player. He’s the No. 87 overall rated player and the No. 7 projected offensive guard, according to draft expert Thor Nystrom. So, we’re looking at somewhere in the second or third rounds for Milum, which is great.
But that may be it for Mountaineers.
Oh, someone might take a flier on Sean Martin, who is rated the 36th best defensive lineman (3.5 sacks on the season) or Garnett Hollis Jr., who is the No. 42 cornerback. Hollis had six pass breakups last season but no interceptions.
It’s not likely though — which would continue a recent trend.
In 2024, Fairmont native Zach Frazier was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round (51st overall) and ended up starting for the team at center.
Also, cornerback Beanie Bishop was a great Mountaineer story. After playing a year at WVU, he was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers, played all 17 games and had 45 tackles and four interceptions – including two on a Sunday Night Football game against then-New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. However, despite being an A.P. second-team All-American, Bishop he was not drafted and signed as a free agent.
In 2023? WVU’s Dante Stills (another Fairmont native) was taken in the sixth round by Arizona. Period.
There were zero Mountaineers taken in 2022.
One, Tony Fields, was selected in 2021.
In 2020, Colton McKivitz was taken by San Francisco and WVU claimed Kenny Robinson, taken by Carolina, although he was kicked off the Mountaineer team and went to the XFL before being selected.
One has to go back to 2019 – when Will Grier, Yodny Cajuste, Gary Jennings, Trevon Wesco and David Long -– to find a respectable showing by the Mountaineers.
I realize recruiting is different these days, but the NFL Draft numbers speak for themselves.
Remember those first-round picks like Karl Joseph, Kevin White, Tavon Austin, Bruce Irvin, Adam “Pac-Man” Jones and Anthony Becht? Remember Jerry Porter and Barrett Green being taken in the second round AFTER Becht in 2000?
Oh, and that beautiful 1990 draft. That’s when Renaldo Turnbull (perhaps one of the most underrated Mountaineers ever) was taken in the first round by the New Orleans Saints, while Reggie Rembert and Mike Fox went in the second round. Seven WVU players, including Major Harris in the 12th round, were selected that year. And the year before? Eight WVU players were selected.
By my count, by the way, Rodriguez had 12 players drafted in his first go-round in Morgantown.
I know, I know. Undrafted players can make a mark in the NFL too. We’ve seen former Mountaineers like Jerry Holmes, James Jett, Mike Vanderjagt, Quinton Spain, etc., do well.
But it makes watching the NFL Draft much more fun for Mountaineer fans if there are multiple players poised to be selected.
And having those guys on the team makes the season a heck of a lot more fun as well.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.