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West Virginia football has lost a three-year starting guard to the transfer portal. The Mountaineers are entering a new era after recently hiring Rich Rodriguez as their new head coach. Rich Rod's return to Morgantown came nine days after the program fired Neal Brown. With these sweeping changes, players are expected to enter and leave West Virginia through the transfer portal. However, the loss of offensive guard Tomas Rimac is still a blow.
According to College Football Senior Writer for ESPN Pete Thamel, the redshirt junior is putting his name in the portal with one year of eligibility remaining. Rimac started 28 games for the Mountaineers and was named honorable mention All-Big 12 this season.
Rich Rodriguez is trying to replicate his past success in Morgantown
While university president E. Gordon Gee alluded to Rich Rod's return to West Virginia, this hiring is still a shocker. Rodriguez did not leave Morgantown on the best terms, bolting before West Virginia's Fiesta Bowl game against Oklahoma. The Mountaineers' new head coach has been in the same role with three programs since. However, Rodriguez recently recaptured the magic of his West Virginia years at Jacksonville State.
Rich Rod coached the Gamecocks for three years. During this time, the university transitioned from the FCS to the FBS, which has been an absolute success. After two straight nine-win seasons, Rodriguez won his last game with Jacksonville State in the Conference USA championship game. While nostalgia might have played a small role in this hire, the Mountaineers' new head coach has paid his due to earn this promotion.
The Rich Rodriguez era of the early 2000s has been the high point for West Virginia football this century. At the time, the Mountaineers were in the Big East Conference. During these seven years, West Virginia won four Big East titles, competed in two BCS bowls, and finished as high as No. 5 in the AP Poll.
The most significant opportunity for the program to compete for a national title was when it headed into the 2007 Backyard Brawl against Pitt, ranked No. 2 in the country. West Virginia unfortunately lost that iconic game, and Rich Rod left for the Michigan job. With his return and the twelve-team College Football Playoff, Rodriguez can take the Mountaineers to heights they haven't been to since the 1980s. Therefore, while the loss of Tomas Rimac hurts, the start of this new era in Morgantown is exciting.
