As West Virginia keeps building toward the 2026 football season, one of the more interesting portal additions on the roster is senior defensive back Geimere Latimer II. He lands at No. 6 on the Mountaineers’ list of most important players, a spot that reflects how much the staff believes he can shape the season on the field.
Latimer was one of the fastest-moving portal pickups of the offseason, and his path to Morgantown comes with a family tie. He joins West Virginia alongside his brother, freshman running back Amari Latimer. Geimere started his college career at Jacksonville State, where he played two seasons for Rich Rodriguez before entering the portal after the 2024 campaign.
His next stop was the Big Ten. Rather than following Rich Rod, Latimer signed with Wisconsin and spent one season with the Badgers before reuniting with Rodriguez ahead of 2026. He still has two years of eligibility left under the new 5-for-5 model.
Production-wise, Latimer has already put together a solid résumé. In his college career, he has 88 total tackles, one forced fumble and four interceptions.
At the power conference level, he recorded 29 tackles in his lone season with Wisconsin, along with the forced fumble. His two best-graded games there, according to ProFootballFocus, came in the final two games of the year against Illinois and Minnesota.
Overall, Latimer played 422 snaps in 12 games for the Badgers and made three starts. West Virginia will be counting on that experience - and that versatility - to show up quickly in 2026.
In Other News...
Rich Rodriguez Just Put West Virginia's NIL Pressure In Focus
Rich Rodriguez has put a sharper spotlight on the reality West Virginia is trying to manage in the NIL era: keeping good players from becoming good players somewhere else. The Mountaineers coach said the program wants to reward players who have earned it, and he framed retention as part football, part finances, with the added burden of past departures tied to coaching turnover and tighter budgets.
Recent fundraising gains have given West Virginia a better chance to compete in that market than it had before, but the long-term test is still ahead. For a program trying to stabilize while the roster churn of modern college football keeps accelerating, the real answer on how well the Mountaineers can hold onto talent likely will not come until after the season plays out. [Read more 🡒]
Rich Rodriguez Is Giving West Virginia Fans Real Reason To Believe
West Virginia footballs latest behind-the-scenes look offered a clearer picture of how much ground the program has covered since the start of Rich Rodriguezs return. The video walked through winter workouts, spring ball and summer training, with Rodriguez and the strength staff talking through the teams progress and the culture shift that has been taking shape along the way.
What stood out most was the level of buy-in. Rodriguez sounded genuinely encouraged by how the players have responded to the work, and that matters for a program trying to build momentum before fall camp fully gets rolling. There is still a long way to go, but the tone around the team suggests a group that believes it is moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Fall Camp Is Already Reshaping Key Position Battles
Five practices into fall camp, West Virginia is already seeing several competitions start to take shape as the coaching staff sorts through new faces, position changes and a few young players making a move. A Youngstown State transfer at wide receiver has put himself in the mix for playing time, while Kings switch from left guard to center has given the Mountaineers a clear leader in that battle. Griffin has also stood out for his ability to move around the offensive line, giving the staff some flexibility as it tries to build depth up front.
The other side of the ball is offering its own intrigue, with Mack moving closer to a rotation role on the defensive line and redshirt freshman Torbor challenging for a starting linebacker job. Coaches have been encouraged by the way both players have handled the early part of camp, and the overall tone suggests these spots are far from settled. For a team still sorting out its identity this early in August, that kind of push from across the roster could end up shaping more than just the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]