Rodney Gallagher Switches Jersey Number as Part of Receiving Opportunity on Defense

The occasional snaps at nickel do not mean he’s fully changing positions, but does show an added incentive to figure out the best possible way to get Gallagher involved. Brown has been open about having reasonable expectations for Gallagher early in his college career due to his initial position change from most playing quarterback in high school.

There’s still plenty of time for Gallagher to make an impact as a Mountaineer, but it may also be difficult to earn too many opportunities in the offense with the emergence of other young receivers like Traylon Ray and Hudson Clement last year and the addition of veteran transfer Jaden Bray this offseason. WVU wide receivers coach Bilal Marshall talked about where Gallagher stands as a receiver as he enters his sophomore season and what he expects from the four-star recruit moving forward.

Marshall said Gallagher is still not where he would like him to be as a route runner, but covers up a lot of his mistakes through effort. He called Rodney a “ball player” and said he likes to watch him work.

While discussing how Gallagher has been progressing this offseason, Marshall also added that the high school star quarterback turned college wide receiver has put on 10 pounds of muscle since he last appeared in a game.

At the start of the spring practice session, Brown was asked about year two for Gallagher. Brown explained Gallagher has worked really hard this off-season and is a much better true receiver now than he was at any point last year. At that time, Brown said he expects Gallagher to be more involved in the offense beyond gadget plays etc moving forward.

Rodney Gallagher, a product of nearby Western Pennsylvania based Laurel Highlands High School, made 10 catches for 74 yards as a receiver and was also used on gadget plays. Head coach Neal Brown recently said he believes Gallagher can be star by gilding his body and gaining more experience at the position.