MORGANTOWN — He’s a man who exists in two worlds: West Virginia football player Rodney Gallagher III.
He’s a receiver and a defensive back.
He was one of the top recruits West Virginia signed last year and is bursting with potential, but is still developing both offensively and defensively.
As Saturday’s Backyard Brawl (ESPN2) game against Pittsburgh at 3:30 p.m. approaches, Rodney Gallagher could be a player in position to make a big, game-changing play on either offense or defense.
His recruitment to West Virginia after a stellar career at Laurel Highlands High School just across the Pennsylvania state line in Uniontown made him an easy target for scouts from both the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia. There was no contest: He was headed to West Virginia from the get-go.
He was a basketball star, coming in as a player with the ball in his hands on his high school team, an athlete, so he was playing for the present rather than the future. The Mountaineers saw him as a receiver, a guy who could throw passes and run reverses.
His rare athletic ability was his true weapon.
But there are needs in the secondary, where his skill set fits well, maybe even better than on offense, so this offseason the team offered him the opportunity to become a two-way player.
It used to be that everyone in football played both, but like everything else in life, we moved towards specialization, and before we knew it, we had two platoons of football, offensive and defensive players, and third-down specialists.
So Gallagher is not only a throw-to player, he’s a throw-back player, and it takes time. He’s Shohei Ohtani with shoulder pads, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Last week against the University at Albany, he played nine times on defense, 19 times on offense and three times on special teams.
And he made an impact.
How long will he play in Pittsburgh? Nobody knows. And where will he play? Nobody is sure.
“I think what the opposing team does will dictate how many plays he plays defensively,” head coach Neal Brown said.
Defense is new for him, but he’s proven he can do it when he narrowly missed an interception that he could have run back for a touchdown.
“He continues to improve defensively and gets better every week, but everything’s new for him and I’m really encouraged by his development defensively,” Brown said.
This is crucial because the secondary needs all the help it can get right now, especially against a Pittsburgh team that will likely throw the ball all over the place to try to find the Mountaineers’ weaknesses.
“He has natural coverage skills. He got the ball caught the other day because he was on the outside. He was on the inside. If he’d been on the outside, it could have been an interception. He did a good job breaking up the ball and intercepting the pass. I’m excited to watch him continue to develop,” Brown said.
Defensive coordinator Jordan Leslie is guiding him through the learning process.
“When you have a guy who’s naturally good at covering, you’ve got to let him do what you want him to do,” Leslie said. “It’s dictated by the calls, the fundamentals, the technique, and then there’s a baseline. He does a good job in man coverage, but he’s not going to do it every time. So you’ve got to develop his skills incrementally, but you can’t ask him to do too much.”
“It’s a slow process. As the weeks go on, we’ll see the depth of the defense and what he can do. He’s a good football player. His great athleticism shows in everything he tries to do.”
But he also seems to be proving to be a force on the offensive side of things.
“Offensively, he just missed a couple of explosive plays,” Brown said. “I think we targeted him six times. His snaps and how we get him to touch the ball will continue to evolve.”
But on the other hand, he has to juggle more than anyone else.
“He’s in offensive meetings, defensive meetings. He’s in the receiver room, the secondary room. There’s a lot to figure out.”
“He’s been back and forth in conferences a lot,” offensive coordinator Chad Scott said. “It’s a tough job.”
It takes a special person to handle that.
“First of all, he’s very smart and has good football knowledge,” Scott said. “Without that, it’s going to be hard to go both ways. We’re not asking a lot from him.”
“Offensively, he knows everything and we didn’t ask for that last year, so it’s OK from that standpoint,” Scott continued. “Defensively, he’s spent a lot of time with those guys in the offseason and a lot of time with them during the week. Obviously, when it comes to watching more film, he’s got to put in the work … and he’s done.”
Of course, the question arises as to whether splitting into offense and defense halves the efficiency of each or doubles their value. Would it be better to stick to one or the other and learn the details and intricacies of running routes without worrying about covering them?
Will the day come when Neil Brown has to decide where he belongs?
Maybe so, or is he simply the chosen one to handle whatever is thrown at him, whether from his own quarterback or the opposing quarterback?
Get the latest news from the day and more delivered to your inbox