Why WVU is Likely to Add Another Running Back Through the Transfer Portal

In all of the years that Rich Rodriguez has been in coaching, he had never experienced what his team went through this past season with the amount of injuries at the running back position and how early they came.

He made it a point during the early signing period to replenish the depth of the room, signing five players — Amari Latimer, Christopher Talley, Lawrence Autry, SirPaul Cheeks, and JUCO product Martavious Boswell.

But wait...there's more.

The Mountaineers are expected to lose Jahiem White, Diore Hubbard, and Tyler Jacklich to the transfer portal next month, and while the staff does have to be cognizant of the roster numbers, Rodriguez is hell-bent on making sure they never experience this past season's situation ever again.

Curtis Jones Jr. may be a player he still considers playing two ways, but his primary role will be on defense, and if he does play some at running back, it will be by choice as opposed to out of necessity.

One of the early period signees, SirPaul Cheeks, is coming off a torn ACL that ended his season and isn't expected to be fully healthy until July. Assuming that timeline holds, it's still going to take him time to get back up to game speed, master the offense, and be ready to contribute.

As of this moment, the Mountaineers' lone short-yardage/goal-line option would be incoming freshman Lawrence Autry. If WVU adds another back, which I fully expect them to do, I think we make the assumption that it will be someone who can handle those short-yardage situations.

Amari Latimer is a big enough back to be able to be used in those situations as well, but he's going to have a pretty heavy workload, assuming his transition to the next level goes as expected. Regardless, you don't want your only options in those scenarios to be a pair of true freshmen.

WVU is not permitted to talk with any player until the transfer portal officially opens on January 2nd. They can, however, speak with players who have already entered the portal due to a coaching change or if they're in Division II.

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