West Virginia Makes a Late Large-Sized Addition to the Running Back Room

West Virginia now has a seventh running back on the roster, making a late addition with JUCO product Tyler Jacklich of Merced College.

After a stellar senior season in high school, where he racked up 2,278 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns on 201 carries, he was named NorCal Offensive Player of the Year. He was also third in the entire state of California in rushing.

Jacklich began his career at Wyoming before making the shift down to junior college. Last season at Merced, Jacklich rushed for 960 yards and 12 touchdowns.

With SMU transfer Jaylan Knighton being removed from the roster, the Mountaineers felt like they needed to go out and snag someone. They're also waiting on a ruling in regards to the eligibility of Northern Iowa transfer Tye Edwards. His court hearing is set for August 19th, along with three other Mountaineers — wide receiver Jeffrey Weimer, defensive lineman Jimmori Robinson, and safety Justin Harrington.

Should Edwards be deemed ineligible, Jacklich could fill into his role as the short-yardage, power back with his 6'2", 223-pound frame. Of course, the biggest challenge for him will be getting up to speed, learning the offense, and adjusting to the high tempo that this WVU offense will play at. That was one of Rich Rodriguez's biggest concerns with adding someone this late in the process, which he articulated during his press conference on Wednesday.

“If you’re picking somebody up now, you hope they’ve been training all summer because you haven’t had a chance to see them," Rodriguez said. "You could get here and get in shape. But the difference now is everyone here has been with our strength staff in the summer, and they’ve had whatever it is, 10-12 practices, a pretty good pace. Practices should help get them in shape. There’s probably still a couple guys out there, but it’s pretty rare to find guys (right now).”

Updated WVU RB Room

Jahiem White

Diore Hubbard

Tye Edwards*

Kannon Katzer

Clay Ash

Tyler Jacklich

Updated WVU RB Room

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI