ESPN Ranks WVU’s Cam Cook as Top 100 Player in College Football

The senior running back is getting serious national attention as one of the best running backs in the nation.

WVU Athletics Communications

The West Virginia Mountaineers' offense is set to take a massive step forward this season after ranking near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference in scoring last season. If the Mountaineers take that step forward offensively this season, senior transfer running back Cam Cook is going to be a key part of it.

West Virginia’s lead back is getting national attention just over a week away from their season opener against Coastal Carolina. ESPN ranked the top 100 players in college football ahead of the 2026 season, and Cook came in at No. 84.

“Cook was one of the top transfer portal running backs this offseason after he finished as the nation's rushing leader at Jacksonville State, and the 5-9, 203-pound senior should provide an immediate jolt to coach Rich Rodriguez's Mountaineers offense, which ranked 14th in the Big 12 in scoring last fall,” ESPN’s Eli Lederman wrote. “A former TCU standout, Cook made life difficult on would-be tacklers a year ago, ranking top three nationally in first downs (84), runs of 10-plus yards (54) and yards after contact (1,075).”

The senior back came in as the 10th highest-ranked running back on the list. Backs ranked ahead of Cook on the top 100 players list included Tennessee’s DeSean Bishop, Ohio State’s Bo Jackson, BYU’s LJ Martin, Texas’s Hollywood Smothers, Louisville’s Isaac Brown, Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy, Miami’s Mark Fletcher Jr., Florida’s Jadan Baugh, and Ole Miss’s Kewan Lacy, ranked as the top running back on the list at number six overall.

Cook was ranked ahead of Oklahoma State’s Caleb Hawkins, Georgia Tech’s Justice Haynes, and Texas’s Raleek Brown on the list.

Cook comes to Morgantown with serious expectations

WVU Athletics Communications

Just a few weeks ago, West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez compared the senior running back to another Mountaineer great in Avon Cobourne. Cook has great vision and burst in short areas, which makes the Cobourne comparison make a lot of sense.

As a junior, Cook saw 325 total touches and averaged an unbelievable 5.6 yards per carry at Jacksonville State last season.

After starting his college career with Big 12 rival TCU, Cook has emerged as one of the premier running backs in all of college football. Cook has seen a stark increase in workload in each of his first three college seasons, and while it’s going to be tough to top 325 touches this season, there is no doubt that the Mountaineers' offense will be ride-or-die with Cook throughout the entirety of the 2026 season.