Son of Rich Rodriguez named starting quarterback at Louisiana-Monroe

Rhett Rodriguez, the son of Louisiana-Monroe offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez, has been named the starting quarterback for the ULM Warhawks, according to Adam Hunsucker of the Monore-News Star. Rich Rodriguez has coached at many stops across college football, including Clemson, West Virginia, Arizona, and others.

Rodriguez playing sparingly at Arizona, where his father once was the head coach. As a a redshirt freshman at Arizona, he appeared in seven games and started in one. He completed 43 of his 83 pass attempts for 516 yards and three touchdowns, while tossing two interceptions on the season. Since 2018, he’s only played in two games.

From the sounds of it, Rodriguez might not be the only quarterback playing on Saturday vs. Kentucky for ULM.

“I think we have to play that thing out and see who can be the hot guy to come in,” said ULM’s first-year head coach Terry Bowden. Colby Suits started the first eight games of 2020 before Jeremy Hunt took over under center for the Warhawks.

Rhett Rodriguez spent his freshman year at Arizona. His college football career began when his father was named the head coach at Arizona. After Rhett’s freshman season at Arizona, his father was fired at Arizona due to an investigation into sexual harrassment allegations and workplace misconduct.

Rich Rodriguez as offensive coordinator at Clemson

Rodriguez served as Tommy Bowden’s offensive coordinator at Clemson from 1990-2000, where he would become the father of the “zone-read” offense. His offense would later have a massive impact on college football and football in general.

Woodrow “Woody” Dantzler

Rodriguez coached prize pupil, quarterback Woodrow “Woody” Dantzler at Clemson, one of the most electrifying players in college football history. Woodrow “Woody” Dantzler was one of the greatest players in Clemson football history and plastered his name all over the Clemson record books.

Pat White and Steve Slaton

Rodriguez was the head coach for Pat White and Steve Slaton at West Virginia, where the duo formed one of the most electrifying offenses in college football history. Both players thrived in Rodriguez’s “zone-read” offensive scheme.

Pat White rushed for over 1,200 rushing yards in back-to-back seasons for the Mountaineers in the 2006-2007 seasons. Not only that, he rushed for over 900 yards in both 2005 and 2008. Once his cleats were hung up at WVU, he’d eviscerated defenses to the tune of 4,480 total rushing yards and 47 touchdowns. He left his mark as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football history.

ULM kicks off their 2021 season, Saturday, Sept. 4 against Kentucky. Kickoff is slated for noon from Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

On3’s Nick Roush also contributed to this report.