MORGANTOWN — The football world had eyes on the NFL owners’ meetings Wednesday, with the fate of an iconic play in the balance. The “tush push” was up to a vote on whether or not it should be legal. The tush push is a play where the quarterback is pushed by his teammates to move the ball forward, picking up a yard or two.
The play was made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles because of their continued success for the past couple of years, and its impact on their Super Bowl run last year.
The success of the Eagles created an outcry by opposing NFL teams, and the Green Bay Packers spoke up, saying it should be illegal, putting it up to a vote at the NFL owners’ meetings.
The result was a 22-10 vote against the play, but there needed to be 24 votes for it to be illegal. The tush push lives on.
In college football, the tush push is legal, but it hasn’t seen the same kind of success and national attention as in the NFL. But could West Virginia take advantage of this play?
There are a couple of factors that make this play a possibility for the fall.
Rich Rodriguez is an old-school coach, and like the Eagles last year, loves to use big bodies to pound the football down the field. It has the characteristics of a play that Rodriguez runs this fall.
Rodriguez has famously run the play before. In 2023, Jacksonville State’s offense ran the tush push on first and 10. The play wasn’t supposed to be run, and Rodriguez was on the sideline, furious about the seemingly miscommunication between his quarterback and himself. His squad did pick up a couple of yards.
Rodriguez runs a fast-paced offense, as on display in the spring game. Tempo helps the tush push. In a short-yardage situation, the offense’s quick lineup can make sure the defense doesn’t get situated right to stop it, which is another reason the Eagles have so much success.
Rodriguez’s offense fits the tush push, but there’s a necessity of the right players to run the play effectively.
The Eagles run the play so well because quarterback Jalen Hurts is 6-foot-1, 223 pounds and squatted 600 pounds in college. He has the drive and strength to run the play. The offensive line is a bunch of units, too. The average height and weight of the line is 6-foot-6 and 338 pounds.
West Virginia’s quarterbacks haven’t shown their squats, but the size is available to the public. Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson is one of the bigger quarterbacks on the roster. Henderson stands at 6-foot-3 and 224 pounds, which is right on par with Hurts. Nicco Marchiol isn’t far off and is 6-foot-2 and a heavier 228 pounds.
West Virginia’s offensive line has some units, too, which was a priority to Rodriguez when he took the job because he loves the trenches and running the ball so much. There’s no set offensive line for the fall, but looking at the players on the spring roster, West Virginia has 10 players over 300 pounds and five players 6-foot-5 or higher. Rodriguez added some units in the portal, too. Transfer commit tackle Mickel Clay stands at 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, and all four interior line transfers weigh over 300 pounds.
West Virginia has the players to run the tush push. The tush push being allowed should be a rejoice not only for the Eagles, but for WVU, too. There’s no telling how much or if the Mountaineers will run the play at all, but with all factors in their favor, it’s something to consider.
