Cam Cook is back in the Big 12, and West Virginia is banking on him to give its ground game a real jolt.
The senior arrives in Morgantown with an extra year of eligibility after the NCAA’s new rule, and his path has already taken a few turns. Cook opened his career at TCU, where he spent two seasons and ran for just under 500 yards, then moved on to Jacksonville State for the 2025 season.
That’s where he exploded. Cook led the nation in rushing and rushing yards per game, finished second among running backs in carries, and was first in carries per game.
For West Virginia, that kind of production lands at the perfect time. The Mountaineers’ rushing attack was better than it was in 2019, when they were the worst rushing offense in a power conference, but it still lagged behind where they need to be.
West Virginia ranked No. 64 in rushing yards per game, No. 109 in yards per carry and No. 59 in touchdowns last season. The numbers tell the story: WVU finished with 1,927 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns, while Cook alone posted 1,659 yards and 16 scores at Jacksonville State.
He averaged 5.62 yards per carry; the Mountaineers averaged 3.68.
Cook’s connection to Rich Rodriguez is part of the story, too, even if the two never overlapped at Jacksonville State. Cook was at TCU when Rodriguez was coaching the Gamecocks, but the route still led from the Conference USA school in Alabama to the Big 12 stage in Morgantown. Rodriguez said in the video above that the Mountaineers treated Cook well in the portal and talked about what he can bring to the offense.
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