WVU Game-Changer Ranked in Top 10 Players Who Turned Down the 2026 NFL Draft

West Virginia's ground game failed miserably in 2025, which infuriated head coach Rich Rodriguez, who has made a living off of running the football, regardless of where he's been throughout his coaching career.

To help fix that issue, the Mountaineers retooled the offensive line, which was a big problem last fall, but also went out and landed the nation's leading rusher, Cam Cook, out of the transfer portal from Jacksonville State.

Cody Nagel of CBS Sports ranked Cook as the ninth-best returning player in college football who skipped the 2026 NFL Draft.

"The FBS leader in yards from scrimmage (1,945) and rushing yards (1,659), Cam Cook dominated at Jacksonville State after transferring from TCU and now returns to the Big 12 with West Virginia. Cook averaged 5.62 yards per carry -- 11th-best among players with at least 200 attempts this season -- while consistently breaking tackles (100 missed tackles forced) and turning routine runs into explosive gains (53 carries of 10-plus yards). With West Virginia counting on him to anchor the run game, Cook enters 2026 as one of college football's most dynamic and productive backs."

The eight players listed ahead of him? Oregon QB Dante Moore, Miami QB Darian Mensah, Indiana OL Carter Smith, Texas QB Arch Manning, USC QB Jayden Maiava, Oregon DL A'mauri Washington, Texas Tech DB Brice Pollock, and Miami DL Damon Wilson II.

Can Cook repeat as the nation's top rusher?

Jacksonville State running back Cam Cook (4) carries the ball during the football game against Middle Tennessee, at MTSU on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. | HELEN COMER/The Daily News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As much as Rodriguez is going to want to give Cook the rock, he has to be super careful with his workload. And by that, I simply mean be calculated as to when to let him tote it 25-30 times. As of this moment, he is the only back on the roster with Division I experience, and if he's not available, WVU could have a big problem on its hands, regardless of how talented true freshman Amari Latimer is.

Also, jumping back up to the Power Four level is naturally going to make it more difficult to lead all rushers. With all due respect to the teams he faced last year, the talent is just on a whole other level in the Big 12. The good news is he does have experience in this league. Still, I'm not sure he'll replicate his 2025 production, but it will certainly be a massive improvement from what the Mountaineers had to work with last fall.

Can Cook repeat as the nation's top rusher?

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