Ex-WVU RB Jahiem White Off to Strong Start at North Texas, Eclipses 2k Career Yards

Jahiem is healthy and doing his thing again.

Sep 5, 2026; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; North Texas Mean Green running back Jahiem White (1) carries the ball as Indiana Hoosiers linebacker Rolijah Hardy (5) and defensive lineman Daniel Ndukwe (17) defend during the second quarter at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

West Virginia's running back room appears to be in a great spot with the nation's leading rusher in 2025, Cam Cook, leading the way, and a talented four-star freshman, Amari Latimer, serving as the No. 2 option.

I am by no means insinuating that West Virginia made the wrong decision to let Jahiem White walk, but there's always a part of me that will wonder what type of production he would have had in a Rich Rodriguez offense. Even if it were in a backup role.

The quick burst, big-play ability, and contact balance were all things that made him so dynamic in his first two seasons in Morgantown before he suffered a season-ending knee injury in a Week 2 loss to Ohio last fall.

Two weeks ago, White made his long-awaited return to the field, once again playing for Neal Brown, and in his season debut, he rushed for 61 yards and a score against No. 6 Indiana. This past weekend, White recorded his first 100-yard rushing game since November 30th against Texas Tech when he posted 124 yards and a score on 14 carries for the Mountaineers.

The Jahiem White Experience. https://t.co/PMZVMK0ll7

— Glory to the Green (@glorytothegreen) September 13, 2026

Those 124 yards were enough to get him up and over the 2,000-yard mark for his collegiate career. 1,819 of those yards, of course, came at WVU, where he left as the school's 27th all-time leading rusher. I have pointed this out before, but it's worth mentioning again for those who didn't read/hear it before — if White stayed one more season and rushed for exactly 1,000 yards, he would have jumped all the way up to No. 7 on WVU's all-time rushing list, sitting behind only Avon Cobourne, Pat White, Noel Devine, Amos Zereoue, Steve Slaton, and Leddie Brown.

If it weren't for the injury, I think there's a good chance White is still a Mountaineer. You don't want to invest a ton of money in a guy who is coming off a significant knee injury because you have no idea how he will respond when he does return to the field. Sometimes the player is nowhere near the same, and some may take longer than you'd like to recover. It's a big risk, and this is just me speculating here, but it could be why class of 2026 running back SirPaul Cheeks never made it to Morgantown — he suffered a major knee injury last October.

Fortunately for Jahiem White, he is back and looks like himself, putting up solid production with the Mean Green.