MORGANTOWN — West Virginia football didn’t have a single player invited to the NFL Combine this year. Out of the 300-plus invites, not a single Mountaineer received one — the first time in five-plus years. WVU wasn’t alone in the Big 12. There were two other schools that had players suffer the same fate.
The Mountaineers had a lot of seniors, too. Some of them who’d like to play after the Texas Tech game. Rich Rodriguez added so many players through high school and the transfer portal this offseason because many were out of eligibility. But none of them could showcase their talent in front of NFL executives and coaches at the combine.
After the 2025 season ended with a 4-8 record, it’s hard to find a lot of NFL-level talent on the team, and obviously, the NFL executives and scouts thought the same, not sending out an invite to any of them.
Part of Rodriguez’s job is to win games, but prepare his players post-college, especially now, because part of recruiting is how this school can launch me into the pros.
So, WVU set up its own Pro Day for the first time in a few years, which was requested by the coaches, so the players could get metrics and tape for professional teams. The Mountaineers Pro Day was Tuesday, March 10, and 26 players participated in front of over a dozen NFL personnel. The players on the 4-8 team can figure out whether there is interest in them at the next level.
Despite not receiving an invite, wide receiver Jeff Weimer felt like his one season playing under Rodriguez in Morgantown had prepared him for the next level.
“I feel ready for the next level, not only just physically, but mentally as well, from the things I’ve learned, coach (Ryan) Garrett, coach Rod and just being able to get better,” Weimer said. “Not only as an athlete during this time, especially, but mentally from being under such great coaching.”
Rodriguez talked about how most of his former players from when he was at WVU the first time are so successful, like Pat McAfee, because he taught them the right mindset. Rodriguez preaches mental toughness and pushing you to your limits, which, even if the former players aren’t playing in the pros, they can use in their everyday lives.
Weimer learned that in under a year with Rodriguez.
“Playing hard is something I’ve always done,” Weimer said. “But being here with coach Rod, there’s a different level under him and what he wants.”
Weimer, who transferred from Idaho State in the offseason, spent his offseason training in Morgantown with the Mountaineers’ strength staff. He said there were eight or nine former players who trained alongside him. It’s a bit unusual that a couple of the former players were staying on site to train because usually they head south or train with their own staff. A lot of them knew there wasn’t a better place to train than home.
“I really enjoyed training here,” Weimer said. “Really enjoyed the group. The strength staff is amazing. I think we have the best strength staff in the country. We were blessed enough to be allowed to use the facilities and have access to that strength staff. We all had so many PRs.”
Weimer hasn’t heard from any NFL teams leading up to the Pro Day, and a lot of the 26 players won’t hear a thing either. It might not look great that WVU didn’t have a single player invited to the combine, and there probably won’t be a player drafted. But it says something about Rodriguez and his staff that a lot of players stuck around and felt like their short time at WVU helped put them in a position to play past college, even after a bad year on the field.
Weimer liked WVU and playing for Rodriguez so much that he plans to hang around the program, whether that’s coming to games or just stopping by, as long as he’s allowed to.
“I’ve made relationships here that I think will last a lifetime,” Weimer said. “It feels like the last episode of your favorite TV show, where you know it’s coming to an end, and I’m not going to see some of these guys. It’s kind of like sweet and sour… I’m gonna miss it, but I’ll be back for sure.”
