WVU Running Backs Must Overachieve to Cover the Nightmare Loss of Jahiem White

The West Virginia Mountaineers got off to a nice start when superstar running back Jahiem White burst for a 32-yard touchdown run against Ohio. Unfortunately, White suffered a pretty nasty hit right in front of the WVU sideline. He left the game on a cart late in the first half and didn’t return.

"It didn’t look good from the sidelines, but I haven’t even talked to the medical staff yet, so I don’t know what’s going on," Rodriguez said.

White is clearly the Mountaineers' best player on the offensive side of the football. While Rich Rodriguez would never make an excuse, he would admit the loss of White certainly played a factor in the 17-10 loss to the Ohio Bobcats on Saturday. 

"Obviously hes a great player and so you lose some of his explosiveness, but we weren’t executing even before then. Again, that’s my job. I take responsibility for the lack of execution. I thought we had two really good practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, but that didn’t show up today for sure."

It appears that White is going to miss a chunk of time, although it has not been confirmed at this time. WVU fans will hope for some good news, but it sounds like Rich Rod will have to play without his star running back for the foreseeable future.

Clay Ash, Cyncir Bowers, and Tye Edwards are the three running backs who are primed to get an opportunity following the injury to White. Ash carried the ball four times for just two rushing yards. Bowers had one carry for negative one yard, and Edwards had no carries. 

After White left the game, the WVU offense couldn’t get the run going. Rich Rod tried everything, which even included bringing in quarterback Jaylen Henderson to try to get a spark on the ground. It didn’t work. Prior to that, Rodriguez tried desperately to win the line of scrimmage with Nicco Marchiol’s legs. That also didn’t work.

WVU dealt with quite a few unfortunate injuries in that loss to Ohio on Saturday. It’s a tough loss, but a win over Pitt in Week 3 would help heal the wound. WVU’s running back room is in trouble without White, but look for Rodriguez to use a group approach as he tries to find the most reliable talent.