Latest news with #RichRodriguez
CBS News
20 hours ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Panthers parade set for Sunday in Fort Lauderdale. Here's what you need to know
As Fort Lauderdale prepares for the Florida Panthers' second straight Stanley Cup championship parade, city officials and fans are offering key advice for navigating the celebration. With large crowds expected, transportation and parking will be major considerations for anyone heading to the beachside event. Parade route and rally details The parade begins at noon Sunday on A1A at Riomar Street and continues south to Southeast 5th Street, where a rally will be held on a stage. Crews have already started setting up barricades and building the stage along the beach. "The Elbo Room all the way down the beach. It's gonna be amazing," said Rich Rodriguez, who attended last year's celebration. Rodriguez and his friend Alex Guzman described the 2023 event as a once-in-a-lifetime experience—and one that gave them important insight into planning for this year's festivities. "If you're driving here, you're just gonna get stuck somewhere," Rodriguez said. Parking, transportation and arrival tips The City of Fort Lauderdale says 26 nearby parking garages will be open for the event, but walking distances to the venue could range from five minutes to over an hour. "Parking is gonna be difficult. So make sure you use ride share or carpool. Water taxi will be available," said Mayor Dean Trantalis. Rodriguez and Guzman opted for the water taxi last year and say it's the way to go. "It's well worth it. You don't have to drive. If you're drinking you don't have to worry about anything like that. The traffic. You can see there are two lanes on the road and it's gonna be really really crowded," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez added that he arrived at the water taxi about three and a half hours before the start of the parade last year. "Last time we got here at about 8:30 and there were already hundreds of thousands of people here. And it was stormy," he said. Police presence and safety measures Fort Lauderdale police say there are no known threats to the event. Officials added that it will be "all hands on deck," meaning nearly every officer not on vacation will be working during Sunday's parade.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
West Virginia Football: 2025 Mountaineers Season Preview and Prediction
West Virginia Football: 2025 Mountaineers Season Preview and Prediction originally appeared on Athlon Sports. West Virginia experienced plenty of turnover through graduation and the transfer portal, but the coaching staff has been active in filling those needs. The team construction is still a work in progress, but coach Rich Rodriguez has shown the ability to adapt and build rosters in this new era, given his success at Jacksonville State. The Mountaineers are going to be an enigma for many heading into the season, but this team could surprise considering all of the unknowns. Advertisement [Editor's note: This article is from Athlon Sports' 2025 College Football Preview print magazine. Order your copy today online, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.] More Big 12 team previews: Arizona | Arizona State | Baylor | BYU | Cincinnati Colorado | Houston | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State Oklahoma State | TCU | Texas Tech | UCF | Utah West Virginia 2025 Season Preview and Prediction Previewing West Virginia's Offense for 2025 West Virginia will be replacing almost all of the offensive production from last season's 6-7 team. One of the key returning pieces, though, is junior running back Jahiem White, who rushed for 844 yards and seven touchdowns and figures to be a centerpiece in head coach Rich Rodriguez's run-based spread offense, as Rich Rod makes his highly anticipated homecoming. Advertisement The Mountaineers must replace Garrett Greene at quarterback and have several players in the mix for the position, including redshirt junior Nicco Marchiol, Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson and Charlotte transfer Max Brown. All of them have starting experience, but Marchiol led the Mountaineers to a pair of wins last season filling in for Greene. West Virginia returns only 38 catches for 419 yards and three touchdowns from last season, but the staff was active in the portal. The line must replace its top seven players from a season ago, a critical factor in the offense's development. Related: Ranking the Big 12 Coaches for 2025 West Virginia QB Nicco MarchiolBen Queen-Imagn Images Previewing West Virginia's Defense for 2025 Coordinator Zac Alley will run the West Virginia defense after reuniting with Rodriguez. He arrives from Oklahoma, where he built a reputation for his versatile, attacking scheme. Advertisement The defense returns some key players up front in Edward Vesterinen, Asani Redwood, Hammond Russell IV and Corey McIntyre Jr., while adding some key pieces out of the transfer portal such as American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Jimmori Robinson at end. The coaching staff also was able to backfill losses through the transfer portal at every other spot on the roster, giving the defense a chance to surprise. It will come down to how the linebackers and secondary pieces fit together, given how important they are in Alley's scheme. The Mountaineers might have a lot of new players, but they invested heavily in the defensive staff, which should pay immediate dividends. West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez Ben Queen-Imagn Images Previewing West Virginia's Specialists for 2025 Australian punter Oliver Straw, the starter for the past three seasons, returns, but the Mountaineers will have a new placekicker. The program brought in Coastal Carolina transfer Kade Hensley to handle the job; he was 16-of-19 on field-goal attempts in 2024. National Ranking: 70 More Big 12 team previews: Arizona | Arizona State | Baylor | BYU | Cincinnati Colorado | Houston | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State Oklahoma State | TCU | Texas Tech | UCF | Utah Advertisement Related: Big 12 Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2025 Related: College Football Rankings: Projecting the Top 25 Teams for 2025 Related: Athlon Sports 2025 College Football Preview Magazine Available Now This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Dominion Post
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Four WVU kickoff times announced for 2025 season
MORGANTOWN — Four of West Virginia's game times were announced Thursday afternoon by the Big 12 and ESPN. The Mountaineers' season opener is slated to start at 2 p.m. on Aug. 30 against Robert Morris, but it'll be behind a paywall on ESPN+ to watch the start of Rich Rodriguez's second tenure. The following week, the Mountaineers play at another interesting time. The Mountaineers travel to Ohio University with a start time of 4 p.m. on Sept. 6, broadcasting on ESPNU. WVU makes its national broadcasting debut in the Backyard Brawl against rival Pitt on Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. This is the fourth meeting between the two schools since the rivalry was renewed in 2022. The final released time is a Big 12 conference game for the Mountaineers. West Virginia heads out to Provo, Utah, on Oct. 3 to face BYU at 10:30 p.m. for the late ESPN kick. The other kick times will be released starting on Sept. 20 on either a 12-day or six-day window prior to the date start of each game, which includes West Virginia's Big 12 opener against Kansas.
Dominion Post
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Could WVU make the 'tush push' a popular play this season?
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.
Miami Herald
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Western Kentucky Preview 2025: Even in a Rebuild, the Hilltoppers Will Be Dangerous
Another year, another great run. It's coming, but Tyson Helton's Hilltoppers have to get that offensive groove back Kentucky has settled in with 34 wins over the last four seasons and six bowl appearances in six years. It's hard to argue too much with an eight-win year, a spot in the Conference USA Championship, and a bowl game. But … The offense died down the stretch, the defense didn't make up for it, and a 7-2 season turned into 8-6 with the Hilltoppers scoring 21 point or fewer in the last five yet, WKU lost to a bad Louisiana Tech. The win over Jacksonville State to end the regular season was a mirage - Rich Rodriguez's team was resting up for the rematch a week later, and it showed in a 52-12 take out the everyone-gets-a-pass 2020, and Helton has eight wins or more in five of his six seasons, this year's team should be a favorite to win the conference title, and it should be another great run if … Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- The offense has to kick it back in from the start, and do it with a wholesale change at the skill spots. The passing game was okay under Caden Veltkamp, but he left for Florida Atlantic. In comes veteran quarterback Maverick McIvor. After bombing away for over 8,000 yards and 63 scores over the last three years at Abilene Christian.- The top four pass catchers are gone, but KD Hutchinson is back after averaging over 15 yards per grab. The stars - led by deep threat Matthew Henry (Western Illinois) - are almost all coming in through the portal. - The offensive line that struggled in pass protection and didn't generate enough of a push for the ground game replaces four starters, but Marshall Jackson is a decent veteran at left tackle. The new starters from the transfer portal are just okay - Devon Smith (ULM) should be okay at one tackle, but the interior being pieced Wright (Austin Peay) should be the main man for the ground game, along with WKU's No. 2 rusher last year, George Hart III - he ran for 206 yards. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Preview 2025: Defense - The defense was way too pass defense finished ninth in the nation, but that's because everyone was too busy running at will on the front six. On the plus side, the entire line and most of the linebacking corps is being replaced - Kennon Loftin (JUCO) should be the team's leading tackler in the middle.- The line has experience from other spots, but the proven production isn't quite there. It's a strength-in-numbers thing with seven new players from the portal forming rotation. The pass rush has to come from somewhere. - The secondary will be tested a little more this season. Jaylen Lewis (Temple) was a nice get at safety coming off a 43-tackle season, and Demarko Williams is a veteran who came up 37 stops and two picks last year. The corners will work around Kent Robinson, one of WKU's most experienced returning defenders. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Key to the Season Don't be awful against the Hilltoppers went 2-5 when allowing teams to run for over 190 yards - and one of those teams was Jacksonville State the first time around when it was playing at half speed - and 6-1 when allowing that many yards or fewer. That's why … Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Key Player Mackavelli Malotumau, DT former Nevada tackle isn't massive - he's a 6-1, 290-pound anchor - but he's got the leverage to hold up on the nose. That's the hope after making 25 tackles with a sack in two years for the Wolf Pack. If he and 305-pound Norfolk State transfer Eric Etienne can hold up, the WKU D will quickly change. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: Maverick McIvor, QB would be nice if he was a bit more of a runner, but over his three years at Abilene Christian, McIvor grew into a whale of a passer throwing for over 3,800 yards and 30 scores last year. He's ready right out of the box to take over the attack and start pushing it down the Transfer Out: Hosea Wheeler, DT might be more talented players gone through the portal - Rodney Newsom should be a whale of a guard for South Carolina - but Wheeler is exactly who this year's team could've used for the defensive interior. The CUSA all-star is now at Indiana after making 75 tackles last year. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Key Game Sam Houston, Aug. 23If you really and truly want to dream big, the biggest game might be at Toledo on September 6th. Win that, and with a freakishly light schedule, 11-1 in the regular season isn't an insane goal. But Sam Houston will be dangerous, it's the Conference USA opener, and it's a home game that has to show the team is back up to speed right out of the gate.- 2025 WKU Hilltoppers Schedule Breakdown Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Top 10 Players 1. Marshall Jackson, OT Sr.2. Maverick McIvor, QB Sr.3. Jaylen Lewis, S Jr.4. Kent Robinson, CB Sr.5. Kennon Loftin, LB Jr.6. Matthew Henry, WR Sr.7. Anthony Breckenridge, LB Sr.8. La'Vell Wright, RB Sr.9. Cole Maynard, P Sr.10. Mackavelli Malotumau, DT Sr. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 2024 Fun Stats - Rushing Yards: Opponents 3,097, WKU 1,524- Fumbles: WKU 22 (lost 12), Opponents 17 (lost 10) - Time of Possession: Opponents 32:10, WKU 27:50 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen This isn't one of Tyson Helton's best teams, but it might have the best about the paycheck game at LSU, and going to Toledo is dangerous, but that's it. Jacksonville State is in a total rebuilding mode, a road game at Louisiana Tech could be interesting, but whatever. This is one of the easiest schedules in college football, and WKU has to take full advantage of it. There are too many new parts to expect any sort of consistency over the first half of the campaign, and there will be a few blown tires - like, maybe against Middle Tennessee or in the opener against Sam Houston - but it'll be another season with eight more more wins, and another season in the mix for the Conference USA The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Win Total At … 8Likely Wins: FIU, North Alabama50/50 Games: at Delaware, at Jacksonville State, at Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, at Missouri State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, at ToledoLikely Losses: at LSU © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
