One Game Was All Diore Hubbard Needed to Shake Up WVU’s RB Rotation

Sometimes all you need is an opportunity, and last Saturday, West Virginia redshirt freshman running back Diore Hubbard finally got his against the Utah Utes.

The room has been riddled with injuries since the beginning of fall camp. Hubbard was a little banged up in camp, Kannon Katzer was on the shelf for quite some time, Jahiem White was lost for the season with a knee injury, Tye Edwards is dealing with a hip pointer, and Cyncir Bowers missed last week's game after taking that shot to the head against Kansas.

Hubbard not only ran the ball well, rushing for 61 yards and a score on 10 carries, but he also more than held his own in pass protection, which was a bit of a surprise for a guy getting his first serious action.

Don't be fooled into thinking he lucked into this opportunity, though. Hubbard is talented, and back in the spring, I pegged him as the third back in the rotation behind White and Jaylan Knighton, who was ultimately deemed ineligible. The previous coaching staff said a lot of good things about him and his development last year, and throughout the winter and spring, we continued to hear positive reviews from this staff.

It just took him a little bit of time to get back into the swing of things after missing a little time, and he had to earn the trust of the coaching staff. After last week, that trust has been earned.

"I thought of all the guys that had an opportunity and came out of nowhere, Diore Hubbard was one of them, and he actually played pretty well," head coach Rich Rodriguez said. "He made the most of his opportunity, so now we have some confidence that he can go in there, too. He's one of the faster guys. With all the injuries and down four guys or something, I told him, 'You're going to get a chance now. You're going to play and make the most of it.' And he did. It was kind of neat, as mad as we were after the game, he gave me a hug and said, 'Coach, I just really appreciate the opportunity.' And I said, 'Hey, you earned it and made the most of it.' Now we've got confidence we can put him in the game and he'll be a part of the regular rotation."

Even if Bowers and Edwards are back in uniform this week, Hubbard may be in line to receive the bulk of the carries. Bowers still has a lot to prove, while they'll likely be extremely careful with Edwards, possibly having him on a pitch count.