Ryan Garrett didn’t have to think long when the opportunity was presented to him to follow head coach Rich Rodriguez from Jacksonville State to West Virginia.
“For me it was a no-brainer to come with him,” he said.
Garrett was a graduate assistant for Rodriguez during his time at Mississippi after the veteran head coach elected to keep him on staff in the role. Rodriguez then helped him get the job as the co-offensive coordinator at West Virginia State before he followed him to Louisiana-Monroe.
Garrett then made the move to Jacksonville State with Rodriguez and now is in Morgantown.
“Coach Rod knows this. I’m extremely loyal to him. He’s put me in a great place in my career,” Garrett said. “He believed in me.”
That belief also extends from Garrett when it comes to his trust in Rodriguez and what he is doing as a head coach because he has already experienced success working under him.
“I know it works and I love working for him. I love working in this program,” he said.
The hard-nosed style of coaching that Rodriguez exudes is a perfect match for how Garrett approaches the game even in a time where that is harder and harder to come by.
But with Rodriguez the expectations are set. That doesn’t matter if you’ve coached with Rodriguez for 20-years or are a player that is in his first season or fifth. Everybody is expected to work a certain way.
“You’re going to know what you get every day. Players know what they’re going to get, coaches know what they’re going to get. And there’s a standard that everybody is held to,” Garrett said. “And he doesn’t bend those rules for anybody.”
And for Garrett that is exactly what made the decision such an easy one.
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