Wide receiver Preston Fox was in the gym just a couple of weeks after announcing he is retiring from football. Fox dealt with a calf injury, lower back, a concussion, and the trauma of a disappointing season under Neal Brown. Retiring sounded like a relief.

“It was really taxing on my mental and physical [health], so it was pretty rough last year,” Fox said.

But, it wasn’t.

Fox sat in the gym, and all he could think about was football and how he missed the grind, despite all the injuries.

“I started to miss the game,” Fox said. I was going day in and day out, going to the gym, just thinking about football.”

His father, Tom, also had big WVU tailgates before the games and was pushing him to return, along with his other teammates, like receiver Jaden Bray.

Fox realized he had to get back into football. He wanted to come back to West Virginia.

Fox texted Rich Rodriguez and asked if he could come back, because a return wasn’t a sure thing under a new coach.

“He welcomed my back with open arms,” Fox said.

After learning he could come back, Fox didn’t tell his teammates and just walked into the locker room, like he’d been there the whole time. His teammates obviously noticed and were excited for his return.

Fox’s return is big for WVU because he’s an experienced voice in the locker room, and made the most of his time on the field when he wasn’t injured. However, it’s a bit harder to be a leader on this team, since he’s still learning the offense and coaching staff as much as the younger players.

“I’m always like a leader,” Fox said. “But being a new team, you kind of got to set a standard and be a leader and find a way to get in there.”

Rodriguez’s offense has taken some getting used to. It was hard at first getting back in shape, and in tempo shape. Rodriguez and all the position coaches have made the offense simple. Once one route concept is learned, that same concept is used in multiple different formations.

“Just the speed and learning the offense that was the biggest adjustment for me,” Fox said. “Just because I had this whole different offense over here, right? And then having to learn a whole new one in a short amount of time. It was hard for me.”

Fox is getting a grasp on the new scheme.

Just a few weeks before the first game, Fox realized this was his final year. There’s no coming back. He could get injured again, but he’s not worried about that. Fox is just making sure he doesn’t have any regrets when he leaves this time around.

“I’m like, excited for the next part of my journey, but I’m also trying to leave everything out there on the field and just give it my all each and every day,” Fox said. “If things go wrong, they go wrong. If I get hurt, it happens. It’s God’s plan. But I’m just trying to give it my all every single day.”