Powdrell announces plans to return to WVU in 2027
AP Photo/Gregory Payan
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Rich Rodriguez said Tuesday during his weekly press conference that contract negotiations with impact West Virginia football players on the team about returning for the 2027 season are ongoing. Nothing is set in stone, but some have agreed to come back.
Defensive back Andrew Powdrell didn’t leave anything up to debate during his media session 20 minutes after Rodriguez finished speaking. Powdrell said he’s going to use his final year of eligibility and is planning to return to the Mountaineers.
“I feel like they’ve shown me a lot of love and support through this time,” Powdrell said. “They put their trust in me as far as moving to different spots, seeing how I can help the team, and just be the best player I could be.”
Powdrell was a new addition this offseason. He transferred after playing 14 games for Dan Mullen at UNLV. He had 63 tackles, including 41 solo stops, and helped the team to an appearance in the Mountain West Championship game.
Powdrell’s been an impact player, and one of the few bright spots on a rough defense. He’s played in all nine games and has 41 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
Powdrell’s biggest help has been his versatility. He can and has played every position in the secondary. At UNLV, Powdrell played corner, but at WVU, he started as a nickel.
Corner to nickel was a bit of a difficult transition. Powdrell said when you’re playing corner, you’re playing on an island, you and the offensive player. Playing nickel, there is a learning curve because you’re helping out in the run game, making there more to think about. There’s also a lot more space to cover rather than defending a sideline or one player.
“There was definitely an adjustment, but at the end of the day, football is football,” Powdrell said. “I’m a defensive back, so to be able to show I can play multiple positions, the more the better.”
Since Big 12 play, WVU’s defense has been really exposed. It’s the worst in the Big 12 and is second to last in all of college football. It’s the worst of Power Four teams. Defensive coordinator Zac Alley said they needed to shake things up because doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity, and part of that was changing personnel.
With corner Nick Taylor being banged up, Powdrell moved back to corner, which was his position at UNLV. He’s had two pass breakups since the position change. The move back from safety to corner was a lot smoother because he had played that spot for most of his career, according to Powdrell.
“Transitioning, main thing was what the play call was and what the corners are doing in their play call,” Powdrell said. “That was really it. But other than just playing football and playing corner, like it was second nature to me.”
Powdrell also played free safety before switching back to corner. He’s played every position in the secondary now, and that’s helped him know where everyone is supposed to be.
There aren’t a lot of positive takeaways from the Mountaineers defense this fall. Powdrell has shown flashes and is still in Year 1 of the system. If Alley is retained, Powdrell will be one of the leaders on the defense and have a year under his belt, so he should only get better.
It also helps that Powdrell can play any position in the secondary, making him an easy piece to build around. It’s a good sign, despite the defense playing bad, Powdrell is happy to be in Morgantown.
“Coach Rich (Rodriguez) pushes us,” Powdrell said. “He is not going to let us slack at any moment. I think ultimately, it’s going to bring out the best in me to be a great football player.”