MORGANTOWN — Former West Virginia running back Jahiem White is reuniting with his old head coach.

White has reportedly signed to play for former WVU head coach Neal Brown at his new job at North Texas, according to multiple reports. White also joins his former running backs coach Chad Scott, who Brown hired after he was fired from Texas after this season.

White played for one year under Rich Rodriguez and was excited to get involved in a run-heavy system. White was off to a great start, but in the second game of the year, he was illegally tackled and suffered a season-ending injury. White rushed for two touchdowns and 93 yards in the first game with Rodriguez. He also had a score before he got hurt against Ohio, too.

After his injury, White rehabbed with the Mountaineers and even appeared on the sidelines of some of the home games rooting on his teammates. There weren’t many indications that he’d transfer, but on Dec. 8, he announced he’d be transferring. Maybe Brown’s hire at North Texas enticed him? WVU also just changed running backs coach from Larry Porter to Kentucky’s Jay Boulware. That could’ve also played a factor. Auburn, where Porter became the new running backs coach, wasn’t in play for White.

The Mountaineers also added the nation’s leading rusher, Cam Cook, from Jacksonville State, so White might’ve known what was coming.

White had his best years under Brown, and it was the head coach who brought him to Morgantown. White had back-to-back 800-plus yard seasons, sharing the backfield with C.J. Donaldson, who played for Ohio State this season. White had 845 yards and seven touchdowns in his final season with Brown.

He was a smaller back, but was supposed to be one of the best in the Big 12, coming off a strong 2024 season. White has two years of eligibility left.

White was one of the first big dominoes to fall in the mass exodus of well-known Mountaineers. Most of WVU’s offense entered the transfer portal, including leading receiver Cam Vaughn and 2025 leading rusher Diore Hubbard. All of WVU’s running back production left in the portal.

Rodriguez has replaced a lot of those positions with transfers, and he’s started to build a promising and big portal class