Rodriguez Addresses State of the Running Back Room Following Offseason Changes

There are several really good running back coaches in college football, but replacing Chad Scott, who departed for Texas, was not going to be an easy chore this far removed from the big wave of the coaching carousel.

West Virginia not only landed a good one, but one of the best in the business in Larry Porter, poaching him away from Bill Belichick's staff at North Carolina. Rich Rodriguez has followed Porter for quite some time and has always been a big fan of his work.

“What he’s done in the past and I’ve known of him for a long time. He’s worked for a lot of people that I respect. I kind of felt that I needed another veteran presence. I have some really good young coaches, but I need another veteran presence, so it’s good to have Larry on board. He’ll do a great job with our running backs.”

For much of spring practice, Porter will be without Jahiem White who is a little banged up at the moment. In some ways, it could be a blessing in disguise as West Virginia searches to find a consistent second and third option in the room.

“Getting better," Rodriguez said about the running back group. "They’re still getting in shape. I think all of them, the tempo is a little bit different for them. Tye Edwards has made a big step from when we first started practicing to now. He’s a 235-pound big guy that can run and can get downhill. Pleased with his progress. LJ Turner is another new, young guy that I think has made some flashes. (Diore) Hubbard has done a good job. We may get Jahiem (White) back for the last part of spring practice, so that’s a good thing as well.”

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