MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As college athletic programs await an official ruling as to whether or not many athletes that that have exhausted four seasons of eligibility will be awarded a fifth for the upcoming season, many are being proactive and operating under the assumption they will be.
West Virginia football may not quite fit that description, though the Mountaineers announced Thursday night that tight end Jacob Barrick and cornerback Jason Chambers were participating in team activities as the program assesses developments regarding their return.
One day later, that had changed, with Barrick settling on his opportunity to be a graduate assistant and the Mountaineers strictly adding to their secondary in the event of a ruling in favor of the athletes.
“Jacob decided he just wants to be a coach,” WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez said. “He’s going to be a coach now, so he’s not going to be the first player-coach since Dusty Rutledge. But also, part of the decision was being able to pursue his Master’s degree and go that way. It’s going to be good to have him on the staff and I think our tight end room is going to be pretty solid once we get everybody healthy.
“Jason’s been good. He’s slowing getting into shape. I don’t know if anybody knows if that’s going to hold up. Next week, I hope everybody gets some clarity on the eligibility of all those guys.”
West Virginia held its ninth practice of preseason camp Friday at the Caperton Indoor Facility. Media was allowed access for the first time for the first 20 minutes, and Barrick was in a coaching role with a whistle on his neck.
The Martinbsurg native spent the 2022-24 seasons playing for Rodriguez at Jacksonville State before joining the Mountaineers in 2025. He caught nine passes for 69 yards a season ago.
Chambers played a featured role in the secondary in 2025 — his first year at West Virginia after two seasons at North Carolina Central and one at Appalachian State.
Chambers played 664 defensive snaps and 768 altogether last year, including 40-plus defensive snaps in 10 of 12 contests.
He finished the year with 34 tackles, 29 solo stops, three tackles for loss and one interception.
“He knows how we do things,” WVU cornerbacks coach Rod West said. “He knows how we operate. We also know him and there is a certain comfort level knowing how someone is going to respond in the moments. We’ve seen him play in this league and against really good players. We know what we’re getting. In the time of the portal and all the uncertainty, it’s a safety net to know what you’re getting.”
Chambers has extensive experience as he totaled 38 tackles and an interception in his lone campaign with the Mountaineers of the Sun Belt Conference. The previous year, he was in on 41 stops with three interceptions in his second season at NC Central.
“Jason was a starter last year for us and is a good football player,” Rodriguez said. “He’s in pretty good shape. He obviously missed a few months with our strength staff and all that, but he’s a smart and competitive guy. He’s played a lot of football, so he certainly can help us a bit if the ruling comes out that way.”