WVU Football Has Historic Signing Day; Jahiem White Plans to Enter the Transfer Portal
BY Justin “Couz” Walker | WV Sports Chat
While WVU football is not eligible for a bowl game after its 4-8 season, there was some positive news from Morgantown last week.
Rich Rodriguez and his staff accumulated what experts say is the best recruiting class in program history, or at least since the inception of recruiting rankings. Per 247 Sports, West Virginia’s 2026 signing class ranks number 26 in the country and came in number three in the Big 12, behind only Texas Tech and BYU. Rivals/On3 has the Mountaineers’ 2026 class ranked even higher. They show that WVU signed the 20th-best class nationally and the best in the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers signed 49 total commits, including three consensus 4-stars and 45 3-stars. The three most notable signees were all previously committed to Big Ten schools. Offensive lineman Kevin Brown and athlete Matt Sieg flipped to the Mountaineers from Penn State. They were ranked third and sixth, respectively, in Pennsylvania per the Rivals Industry rankings. The other four-star to flip to WVU was running back Amari Latimer, who was previously committed to Luke Fickell and Wisconsin. The 6-foot-tall, 200-pound Georgia native is listed as the 19th-best running back in the country per Rivals Industry rankings.
Kevin Brown had verbally committed to the Mountaineers a couple of weeks prior on the Pat McAfee show. However, Sieg and Latimer were both signing day surprises.
The 2026 class signed by Rodriguez and the Mountaineers included ten JUCO prospects, four of whom play for Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Hutchinson is one of the top Junior College programs in the country. The Blue Dragons are set to play for the NJCAA Championship on December 17.
Below is a position breakdown of the Mountaineers’ 2026 signing class.
Quarterbacks: 2
Running Backs: 5
Wide Receivers: 7
Tight Ends: 3
Offensive Linemen: 7
Defensive Linemen: 7
Linebackers: 3
Defensive Backs: 10
Edge Rushers: 2
Athletes: 2
Specialists: 1
Jahiem White to Enter Transfer Portal
Per Chris Hummer of CBS Sports, WVU star running back Jahiem White reportedly plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal. The 5-foot-7-inch running back out of York, PA, is coming off a year where he suffered a season-ending injury in a 17-10 loss to Ohio in just the second game of the season.
White solidified himself as RB1 in West Virginia’s system entering this season after CJ Donaldson Jr’s decision to transfer to Ohio State.
The junior burst onto the scene during his freshman season and became a fan favorite in Morgantown after averaging 7.7 yards per carry, which ranked second in the nation.
After White’s season-ending injury, West Virginia’s run game relied heavily on freshman Diore Hubbard and sophomore Cyncir Bowers. The duo combined for 584 yards and six touchdowns on the season.
White will have two more years of eligibility following a medical redshirt from this season.