West Virginia sophomore running back Jahiem White had managed only 194 yards across the first four games of the season, but head coach Neal Brown realized that things needed to change.
The dynamic option had only 37 carries over the first four games and averaged just 5.2 per carry, a total that dropped significantly when you remove the 10 for 100 yards that he put up against FCS opponent Albany.
So, Brown felt that the offense needed to find a way to get White going in the run game.
“It’s been as much about us getting him the ball in the right situation. So, first, I take ownership of that,” Brown said. “And that's what I told him. I can't remember what day that he and I spent some time together during the bye week. I just told him, I said, ‘Listen, man, I take complete ownership from a touch perspective and how we're getting you the ball at certain parts of the field.’”
White is coming off an historic freshman season where he averaged 7.7 yards per carry, the most for a West Virginia player with at least 100 carries in program history. However, the slow start is something that the Mountaineers wanted to remedy given what he means to the offense as a whole.
Oklahoma State provided that opportunity as White rushed for 158 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown hitting 8.3 per carry and flashing that big play ability that he showcased last season.
“We’ve been practicing it all week. We knew they were going to play a lot of man this week so that gave us an advantage with the safeties and you got to take care of the safeties in one-on-one situations,” White said.
The offensive line was able to open holes, while the wide receivers and tight ends did their jobs with perimeter blocking and allowing White to get in those one-on-one situations.
“I see things a lot better just because of practice work and trusting the offensive line,” White said.
The Mountaineers also had planned to even get White more involved in the pass game to get him in space had they not had so much success in the run game.
And now the hope is that White is able to build off this performance in order to make him a major factor in the offense moving forward.
“I think he’s a great player. He showed that,” Brown said.
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