Rich Rodriguez Sends a Message to Jahiem White and the WVU RB Room

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 11:33 AM ET

If you ask West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez, every starting position is up for grabs. Yes, even running back.

Last week, Rodriguez was asked about having so many ongoing position battles with the exception of running back (Jahiem White), and before getting through the entirety of the question, Rodriguez interrupted, saying, "What? He's in a battle, too. Did you give him a spot? Something I didn't know about?"

Of course, Rodriguez knows the talent Jahiem White possesses and probably views him internally as the Mountaineers' best back. That said, he's not going to let White or anyone else in that room know that, especially this early in camp when he's trying to foster competition and improve the group as a whole.

Does this mean White could lose out on the starting job? I mean, technically, anything is possible, but no. Let's be real. He's going to be the guy.

There's a reason why he and the rest of the staff invested so much time in keeping him — they know he has star potential. And in this offense? Forget about it. He could be one of the best running backs in program history by the time he leaves. Check that, he will be one of the best WVU has seen, assuming he stays healthy.

Much like the quarterback battle, Rodriguez wants to keep everything on the down low, even the areas that may be perceived as obvious. It does no good to let everyone out there know what he sees in a particular player or position battle, including the players involved.

As talented and electrifying as White is, he's in the same boat as everyone else on the roster — he's learning the system, learning new teammates, and has to go and earn his carries/touches. That's the way it should be. It may sound silly for Rich Rod to say there's a battle at running back, but by rewarding White that tag just a few practices in goes against everything he believes in as a coach. It's also unfair to Jaylan Knighton, Cyncir Bowers, Tye Edwards, Diore Hubbard, and Kannon Katzer, to just anoint someone as RB1 this early, even though everyone in that room knows it'll happen eventually.