West Virginia
A Young, Fast Riser Could Be West Virginia’s Next Defensive Coordinator
The very first thing West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez has to do is put a staff together, ideally starting with finding a defensive coordinator. There is no set scheme Rodriguez is searching for, but he does have a few guys in mind.
“It depends on the coordinator I hire. I’ve got a couple that I’ve talked to, and they’re different,” Rodriguez said Thursday. “And everybody runs the same of everything now defensively whether it’s an odd-stack or an even front. Everybody has certain personnel packages they use for their own defense, but I’m going to pick the d coordinator first. I’ll have a really good one because I have enough resources to hire a really, really good one, and then from there, I’ll build out the defensive staff. There’s not one particular scheme that I want other than that I want to be really aggressive and force the issue, so to speak, on the other team.”
While Rodriguez doesn’t seem to mind what the defensive scheme is, his teams had great success with the 3-3-5 in his first stint in Morgantown. That doesn’t mean he’ll lean in that direction, but he has ties with a lot of guys who have experience running it. One of which is Zac Alley, who is currently the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Oklahoma.
His relationship with Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables goes back to 2011 when he served as a student assistant under him on the staff at Clemson. Alley remained at Clemson through the 2018 season before moving on to take his first position coach job as the inside linebackers coach at Boise State.
After two years in Boise, Terry Bowden named him the defensive coordinator at UL-Monroe in 2021, making him the youngest coordinator at the FBS level at 27. There, he met Rich Rodriguez, who was the offensive coordinator for the Warhawks. He was so impressed by Alley’s coaching and ability to scheme a defense that he brought him to Jacksonville State the following year to serve as his defensive coordinator.
Alley’s unit finished 33rd in scoring defense and 43rd in total defense. The Gamecocks were stout against the run, allowing just 2.8 yards per carry while causing a ton of havoc by creating 25 turnovers (16 interceptions), and a 13th-place finish nationally in sacks per game (2.9).
That success has carried over into his new post at Oklahoma in his first year on the job. The Sooners have seen drastic improvements in the four key defensive statistical categories, as shown below.
|
2023 (Before Alley) |
2024 (With Alley) |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Total Defense |
389.7 (60th) |
324.4 (20th) |
|
Pass Defense |
250.8 (100th) |
218.6 (63rd) |
|
Rush Defense |
138.9 (42nd) |
105.7 (11th) |
|
Scoring Defense |
23.5 (41st) |
22.3 (31st)A |
Alley’s approach fits the exact style Rodriguez wants his defense to play – fast, physical, and aggressive. But the one thing he adds to that is the wrinkles he throws in pre-snap. There’s a lot of movement, which causes the picture to change for the quarterback and often puts them in a tough spot. The defensive line will throw a lot of twists and stunts to make things even more difficult to handle.
He does a really good job of mixing things up visually, creating a bit of a guessing game as to where the pressure is coming from and who is dropping in coverage. He ran a lot of odd stack at Jax State but did mix in a healthy dose of four down fronts as well. He’s able to adapt to the personnel he has, which is probably the most impressive part about him for being such a young coordinator.
MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI
Wren Baker Explains How He Landed on Rich Rodriguez as WVU’s Next Coach
CFB Analyst: Rich Rod Hire Could ‘Fundamentally Alter the Landscape of the Big 12’
Score Predictions for West Virginia vs. Bethune-Cookman
Spread & Over/Under Predictions for West Virginia vs. Bethune-Cookman
West Virginia
The Moving Wall returns to West Virginia with stop in St. Albans this week – WV MetroNews
ST. ALBANS, W.Va – Kanawha Valley residents and visitors from around the state get the chance to pay their respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War when The Moving Wall arrives in St. Albans this week.
The Moving Wall is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located in Washington, DC, and it has been touring the United States for over 40 years to give Americans that may not be able to visit the memorial a chance to recognize those who lost their lives.
“The Moving Wall was put together in 1984 for the purpose of providing a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It’s about 250 feet long, about ten foot at the high point, and then slopesx down along both wings of the wall,” VFW Post 6418 Commander Jerry Mollohan said Tuesday on 580 Live with Dave Allen.
VFW Post 6418 is hosting The Moving Wall in St. Albans with public viewing beginning at noon on Thursday and continuing through Sunday. A ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the wall’s location at 1481 MacCorkle Avenue.
“It’s coming to us from a VFW post in North Carolina, and they’ll be in town tomorrow night, and they’ll bring the wall to the St. Albans Shopping Center,” Mollohan said.
West Virginia suffered the highest casualty rate per capita of any state during the Vietnam War and was among the states with the highest rate of volunteers for service. Mollohan said this is a chance for people with ties to those that served to reconnect with their history.
“There’s 388 West Virginians on the wall, and, of course, there’s over 58,000 total names on the wall. There’s just a lot of family and friends that are connected to those servicepeople that are on the wall,” he said.
Mollohan takes pride in VFW Post 6418 bringing The Moving Wall to West Virginia for the first time in recent memory. He wants residents to come out and learn more about the lives lost in service of the United States.
“The sacrifices that the country has made in all wars is high priority for our obligation to recognize the price of freedom,” he said.
VFW Post 6418 has more information about The Moving Wall at vfw6418.org.
A 6-year-old boy died in a motocross crash in West Virginia over the weekend, officials say.
The boy died during practice runs at Mason Motocross in Mason County on Sunday morning, CBS affiliate WOWK reported. The crash happened around 11:30 a.m. at the track in Point Pleasant.
Officials reportedly said a medical helicopter was called to the scene of the crash, but the child was not stable enough to be flown to the hospital, so instead he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. The boy later died from his injuries at the hospital. He has not been identified as of Monday night.
The Mason Motocross races on Sunday were canceled after the crash, WOWK reported. They were scheduled to start at noon. According to a Facebook post from Mason Motocross, practice runs began around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
In a separate Facebook post on Monday, Mason Motocross asked for prayers for the boy’s family.
“Let’s lift them up in prayer during this unimaginable time,” the social media post said. “Our community. Our support. Our prayers.”
No other information about the crash was released on Monday.
West Virginia
Over 26,000 West Virginia students have applied for full Hope Scholarship funding – WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than 26,000 West Virginia students submitted applications for full Hope Scholarship funding for the next school year.
State Treasurer Larry Pack and his office announced the latest application numbers in a release Monday. Pack’s office said 26,617 students applied during the first application period from March 2 to June 15. The estimated cost for Hope Scholarship funding, as it currently stands, is $155 million.
The first window for students to apply for 100-percent funding closed last Monday. The state treasurer’s office said the cost for this year will rise as students submit applications. Students can apply for 75 percent of the full funding amount until September 15.
The release said around $277 million was allocated by the West Virginia Legislature and Gov. Patrick Morrisey for Hope Scholarship funding during the 2026 Legislative Session.
“We are so excited to welcome thousands of new families into the Hope Scholarship Program. Seeing the Education Savings Account nearly double in participation is a true indicator of the impact and popularity of the program,” Pack said. “Now our team turns their attention to helping these students get the resources they need to tailor their education towards their unique needs. Our goal is for West Virginia will continue to lead the nation in education innovation as we continue to build the program.”
The state treasurer’s office said the 2026-27 full scholarship amount is $5,435.62 per student, with those funds distributed quarterly.
More students are eligible for Hope Scholarship funding this year with more flexibility offered for school choice. The state treasurer’s office said that private school and traditional homeschool students can apply to the Education Savings Account program for 2026-27 academic funding.
The state treasurer’s office broke down each applicant’s eligibility for funding based on when applications are submitted.
June 16 — September 15, 2026: 75% of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
September 16 — November 30, 2026: 50% of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
December 1, 2026 — February 28, 2027: 25% of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
Students can apply online here.
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