MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Former West Virginia star Pat White is getting his first FBS coaching opportunity with an old Big East rival.
South Florida announced Thursday that White was hired to be the school’s new running backs coach. White has spent the past two seasons as the quarterbacks coach at FCS Alcorn State.
“We are very excited to have Pat join our staff and lead our running backs unit,” new USF coach Jeff Scott said in an official school release. “Pat was an electrifying player that I’m sure Bulls fans remember well. He played at a very high level, broke records and won a lot of games as a quarterback at West Virginia and has had tremendous success in two seasons coaching at Alcorn State.
“He will be a great coach and mentor for our USF players.”
Welcome to the Bay, @P5White! 🌴
Named Running Backs Coach.
✅Former standout WVU QB ran for 4,480 yards & 47 TD on his career. Has coached the last two SWAC Offensive Players of the Year at Alcorn State.➡️https://t.co/dqDMiLihho#United #Bullieve #HornsUp 🤘 pic.twitter.com/QsFazL6sA3
— USF Football (@USFFootball) January 2, 2020
White is one of the most prolific athletes in WVU history.
He went 35-8 record as the Mountaineers’ starting quarterback. Four of those wins were in bowl games, making White the first quarterback in NCAA history to start and win four bowls. Two of those were among the most significant wins in WVU history — a 2006 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, and a 2008 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.
Ironically, South Florida was responsible for two of White’s career losses.
White was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and was a first-team All-Big East honoree in three seasons (2006-08). He finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2007 and seventh in 2008.
White finished his career with 6,051 yards and 56 touchdowns passing and 4,480 yards and 47 touchdowns rushing for a West Virginia record of 10,531 total yards and 103 touchdowns. White was the NCAA’s career leader in rushing yards for a quarterback until Navy’s Keenan Reynolds eclipsed the mark in 2015.
White spent four seasons in the NFL, CFL and now-defunct UFL before retiring from football.
White is not the only member of the current USF coaching staff with West Virginia connections. The Bulls recently hired wide receivers coach Xavier Dye from the Mountaineers. Current WVU head coach Neal Brown has yet to announce Dye’s replacement.