Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a season filled with growing pains and offensive inconsistencies, Rodney Gallagher III has become a steadying presence for West Virginia — not just as a playmaker, but as a leader learning how to guide others through adversity.
The junior wide receiver has seen the flashes — those brief, electrifying drives where everything clicks, where timing, spacing, and execution meet perfectly. However, he’s also seen the miscues, the missed reads, and the small details that have turned potential big gains into stalled possessions.
“Honestly, I just think, watching the film and stuff, we have got to capitalize on our opportunities,” Gallagher said. “We’re not doing enough of the little things to move the ball down the field. The opportunities are there, and we’re just not doing a good enough job to succeed in them.”
For the Uniontown, Pa. native, the “little things” have been the recurring theme this season. Whether it’s running a route at full speed, sealing a block on the perimeter, or communicating a split-second earlier, he believes those details are what separate a good offense from a great one.
“Well, I’ll just go with receivers creating more space for ourselves in the route game, just running full speed more, not going through the motions and continue to block better on the perimeter,” Gallagher said. “So, those are some small things. And with the O-line, just continue to get that push. They’re working on it. And then the quarterbacks with the reads. And then it’s just a bunch of little things that are hurting us. But I have confidence in this week. We got a big game coming up against TCU and we need to go out there and get this win a big time game.”
Despite the frustration that can come in difficult times, Gallagher insists the locker room remains tight and united, which is a key part of the Mountaineers’ evolving culture under head coach Rich Rodriguez.
“There’s definitely going to be a little frustration, but we’re all still together,” he said. “Nobody’s pointing a finger. We’re still coming to work every day, continuing to strive to get better. We still have five games left. We can still get bowl eligible, so everything’s still in front of us to succeed in this season with the rest of the games that we have.”
This season has been one of growth for the 5-foot-10, 181-pound wide out and that comes from having to lead the younger classman such as true freshman Scotty Fox Jr., who’s been thrust into the spotlight sooner than expected.
“Scotty, he’s a young guy, but he has all the confidence in the world,” Gallagher said. “He just has to continue to grow and do the little things, and we also need to help him, too. We can always, as an offense, do things to help him out since he’s so young and coming into this offense and playing on a big stage such fast. But we also, you know, he’s doing a great job, so definitely not pointing the finger at him at all. We just got to capitalize on, on the small things to help him out too, as receivers, O-line, running backs. So we all need to just get better as a whole.”
That team-first mentality has made the Laurel Highlands alum one of the emerging voices of the offense. It’s also a reflection of how he was raised. He credits his family for his work ethic and his drive to compete, especially his father, whose advice before every game remains simple.
“Just to play hard and have that mindset to go out there and be the best player on the field that you can be and just, at the end of the day play hard,” Gallagher said.
His family is what helps get Gallagher through the tough times.
“They’ve been supporting me since day one, and they’re going to continue to do that,” he said. “And they always got my back, and I always got their back. It’s big for me, and it’s a confidence booster for me knowing that my family’s up there watching me and wanting me to play hard for them every single week.”
As this week’s game is on the horizon, Gallagher is focused on cleaning up the small mistakes, playing hard and with toughness and just leading by example. There is talent on this roster but it needs to come full circle.
“When the offense is clicking, it’s just because we’re doing everything that we’re coached to do and we’re doing it right. And when we’re not clicking, it’s like we’re just missing those small details that like if we needed to block a certain way, if we would have did it, we would have had a 30-yard gain, but we didn’t,” Gallagher said. “So, now we’re, you know, we have a loss. So it’s, as I keep saying, just the small things that are hurting us right now.”
Photo Credit: Kelsie LeRose, WVSN
