A New Era for the Mountaineers' Ground Game
West Virginia University’s football program is pinning its hopes on a dynamic addition to the backfield. Transfer running back Cam Cook, who topped the nation among returning rushers with 1,659 yards at Jacksonville State last season, has arrived in Morgantown with the explicit endorsement of head coach Rich Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, who inherited a Mountaineers rushing attack that managed just 157.5 yards per game in the previous campaign, sees Cook as the catalyst to lift the offense above its modest standards. The coach highlighted Cook’s ability to generate yards after contact, a statistic that topped 1,100 last year and accounted for more than 65 percent of his total rushing yards.
Beyond raw yardage, Cook’s reputation for forcing missed tackles — he led the country with 101 such plays — adds a dimension of resilience that aligns with Rodriguez’s vision. The coach praised the player’s football intelligence, noting that Cook quickly absorbed the Mountaineers’ system after arriving on campus.
To facilitate the integration, Rodriguez rehired Cook’s former offensive line coach, Rick Trickett, a move designed to smooth the transition and leverage existing chemistry. Trickett’s return is expected to help Cook adapt to WVU’s playbook and accelerate his impact on the field.
The excitement surrounding Cook is underscored by his selection to the Preseason All‑Big 12 team, the only WVU player to earn the honor. As the Mountaineers gear up for preseason work in August, they will open the season against Coastal Carolina, a matchup that could serve as an early gauge of the new backfield’s potency.