Inside West Virginia’s Massive Running Back Overhaul and What it Means for 2026

Change is the name of the game in college athletics nowadays, and for the West Virginia running back room, it's nearing a complete makeover.

On the way out are Jahiem White, Tye Edwards, Diore Hubbard, Clay Ash, Tyler Jacklich, and Kannon Katzer. On the way in are Martavious Boswell, Amari Latimer, Christopher Talley, Lawrence Autry, and SirPaul Cheeks. And in all likelihood, there will be one more addition made to the room next month.

While the top end of the 2025 room was full of potential, Mountaineer fans never got to see how productive it could have been. Jahiem White was lost for the season in Week 2, Tye Edwards was lost for the season a few weeks later, and SMU transfer Jaylan Knighton had some academic issues pop up, preventing him from ever playing a snap in the Old Gold and Blue.

At the beginning of the year, Diore Hubbard was battling through some injuries and ended the season the same way, even missing the regular season finale against Texas Tech.

If a team experiences that much change in one offseason at one position, it could be a huge cause for concern. That's not the case here. This overhaul was much needed, with all due respect to the departing parties.

Jahiem White aside, the ceiling of the group wasn't all that high. You can make a case for Hubbard, but he's on the smaller side and doesn't have the top-end speed to make up for it. One of the reasons for this overhaul is to get bigger bodies who can take the abuse that backs receive on a weekly basis, especially in this run-heavy offense.

The other reason is to raise the floor of this group. Clay Ash is a former walk-on and really struggled to do much with the ball in his hands, averaging just three yards per carry. Tyler Jacklich was added in the middle of fall camp to help with depth. And Katzer made the jump up from Division II and did not appear in a game.

This past year's group of backs averaged 194.6 lbs. The 2026 group, as of now, averages 188.7. So, on paper, they are smaller, but not when you look at what they had available to them for much of the season.

With White and Edwards out, it was pretty much Hubbard, Bowers, and Ash, who average 191.3 lbs. The projected top five backs on next year's roster average 197.6 lbs, including two over 200 (Latimer and Autry). I didn't include Cheeks in that top five group because he's coming off a torn ACL, and his timeline is TBD. I also excluded Devine since he didn't factor in this past year and likely won't in 2026 either.

2025 Group	2026 Group
Jahiem White (5'7", 190)	Martavious Boswell (5'9", 175)
Tye Edwards (6'2", 225)	Amari Latimer (6'0", 228)
Diore Hubbard (5'10", 189)	Chris Talley (5'11", 181)
Cyncir Bowers (5'10", 191)	Cyncir Bowers (5'10", 191)
Clay Ash (5'9", 194)	Lawrence Autry (5'10", 213)
Tyler Jacklich (6'2", 223)	SirPaul Cheeks (5'7", 176)
Kannon Katzer (5'9", 188)	Andre Devine (5'7", 157)
Andre Devine (5'7", 157)

This crop of backs may be young, but they're all talented and capable of securing a role in 2026. Rich Rodriguez shouldn't have to worry about the lack of depth in that room next fall, especially once he adds one more via the transfer portal.

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