MORGANTOWN — West Virginia running back Tye Edwards lined up behind center with just a few yards until the end zone. Edwards took the handoff from quarterback Nicco Marchiol, behind extra linemen, and punched it in for the go-ahead overtime touchdown against Pitt in the Backyard Brawl.

The best moments from the 2025 season were when backs like Diore Hubbard was moving bodies against Houston, or Cyncir Bowers caught the checkdown, taking off for a long touchdown against Arizona State.

But now, all the running backs who were crucial to the 2025 season are gone. Jahiem White is in Texas at North Texas with former head coach Neal Brown. Hubbard, who led the Mountaineers in rushing in 2025, is in the portal and has reportedly ended up at Wyoming. The speedster Bowers is at UConn. Edwards is also in the portal looking for his next opportunity. The backups, Clay Ash and Tyler Jacklich, have both gone portaling, too. What about Curtis Jacobs, the pass-rusher-turned-running back? He left too.

Rodriguez has completely turned the running back room upside down, and the only back that remained from the 2025 season was Andre Devine, who never saw the field.

Even with all the departures, Rodriguez didn’t rebuild the running back room too much in the transfer portal. He opted for quality over quantity.

Rodriguez’s big splash was for the expected 2026 lead back Cam Cook, who came over from Jacksonville State. Cook didn’t play for Rodriguez for the Gamecocks because in 2024, Cook played at TCU. But Cook was there with new offensive line coach Rick Trickett.

Cook was the FBS’s leading rusher in 2025 and was top five in rushing touchdowns. He’s a workhorse back and carried the ball five times short of 300. Cook is the perfect back for Rodriguez’s offense.

Cook was the only running back Rodriguez added in the portal. WVU did pick up a fullback, but he’s not a true running back and is most likely going to spend the most time in Michael Nysewander’s room.

Cook can carry the workload, but if he were to get hurt, especially carrying the ball a lot, there’s not a lot of experience behind him. The next man up comes from the 2026 recruiting class.

The 2026 recruiting class has five running backs coming in, varying in age and ability.

Martavious Boswell is the oldest of the five, coming from junior college. He’s more experienced than the others, but still hasn’t taken a snap at the Division I level, let alone the Power Four level.

Then, there are the various true freshmen, and there’s a lot of talent. 4-star Amari Latimer has a real shot at being the backup to Cook. He was one of the three 4-stars in the class and was a candidate for Georgia’s Gatorade Player of the Year, given to the best player in the state. Latimer should be next in line with his strong high school career.

The rest of WVU’s running back room is a bunch of 3-stars. SirPaul Cheeks, nicknamed Jesus in Cleats, will probably be next up and is one of the faster backs in the class. He’s joined by other 3-stars Lawrence Autry and Chris Talley, who also signed letters of intent. Talley was rated one of the best running backs in Tennessee.

WVU could have a couple of defensive players take some reps at running back. Rodriguez talked about how he expects Matt Sieg, who played safety and was a strong rusher, to play both ways. There could be more.

The running back room is filled, but there’s not a lot of experience. If Cook were to go down, WVU would be rocking with a running back who’s taking their first snaps at the Division I level. There’s still time for Rodriguez to add a running back in the portal, but as the days go on, it seems less likely.