West Virginia’s defense has been the headache. The offense, though, has been everything Rich Rodriguez could’ve wanted and maybe a little more. And at the center of it all is a backfield pairing that’s starting to feel awfully familiar: QB Mike Hawkins Jr. and RB Cam Cook.
That comparison to Pat White and Steve Slaton was always floating around. Now it has some real weight behind it. Once Hawkins and Cook had enough games on the board - and once they’d been tested against Power Four competition - it became a lot fairer to put them in the same conversation as the duo that powered one of the nation’s most dangerous attacks from 2005-07.
Through five games, the numbers line up in a way that’s hard to ignore.
White’s first five games of the 2006 season came against Marshall, Eastern Washington, Maryland, East Carolina and Mississippi State. He went 43-of-60 passing for 567 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, while adding 43 carries for 270 yards and 4 scores on the ground.
Hawkins, through West Virginia’s first five this season against Coastal Carolina, UT Martin, Virginia, Oklahoma State and Iowa State, has gone 47-of-83 for 836 yards, 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. He’s also piled up 92 carries for 574 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The passing efficiency isn’t as clean - White’s completion rate was 71.7% compared with Hawkins’ 56.6% - but Hawkins has already topped White in passing yards, passing touchdowns and interception avoidance. The bigger difference is on the ground, where Hawkins has nearly doubled White’s carry total.
Even with that heavier workload, the yards per carry are almost dead even: 6.3 for White, 6.2 for Hawkins. The jaw-dropper is the touchdown count.
Hawkins’ 11 rushing scores have him on pace for 26.2. That kind of number sounds absurd, but the way he’s been operating, it’s not something you can completely dismiss.
Could you imagine if he got in the ballpark of 25 rushing TDs? Holy moly.
Cook’s production holds up just as well when stacked next to Slaton’s first five games in 2006. Slaton opened that season with 112 carries for 768 yards and 7 touchdowns, good for 6.9 yards per carry and 153.6 yards per game.
Cook has answered with 119 carries for 652 yards and 5 touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 130.4 yards per game. The raw burst is different, and that matters.
Slaton was the kind of runner who could flash lightning on any snap. Cook brings another kind of damage: he’s the guy who usually makes the first defender miss.
He’s not going to simply outrun people all the time, but he can wreck a play by forcing missed tackles.
Different styles, same result so far - massive numbers and an offense that looks built around two players who can bend a game in a hurry.
In Other News...
West Virginias Cincinnati Weekend Is Turning Into A Program Showcase
West Virginias Oct. 17 home game against Cincinnati is getting a bigger stage, with the Big 12 announcing the matchup will air on TNT and also be simulcast on TruTV and HBO Max. For a program that has spent the fall trying to turn home dates into full-event weekends, it fits neatly with what is already building around the game in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers are layering in a Stripe the Stadium theme, group ticket packages for alumni and the induction of the 36th WVU Sports Hall of Fame class, while the Big 12 Fall Tour is also set to stop in town with a free kickoff concert on Oct. 10. It is the kind of calendar that gives the Cincinnati game more weight than just another conference Saturday, and West Virginia will be hoping the extra attention translates into a packed house and a lively atmosphere. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Mourns A Heartbreaking Loss In Its Recruiting Class
A heartbreaking loss struck West Virginias recruiting class on Monday morning when Chris Wilson, a senior at Yorktown High School and a committed defensive line recruit for the Mountaineers, was killed in a shooting. The incident remains under investigation, and authorities have not released additional details.
Yorktown High School principal Stacey Brewer issued a statement expressing condolences to Wilsons family and the school community while also confirming there is no threat to students or schools. For West Virginia, the news goes far beyond football, cutting into the lives of coaches, teammates and a program that had welcomed Wilson as part of its future. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginia Could Soon Have An Honor Huff Roster Problem
West Virginias roster picture is already tight, and it could get more complicated if the NCAA case involving former guard Honor Huff breaks the Mountaineers way. Huff has filed a complaint seeking a fifth year of eligibility after transferring schools and sitting out a season, putting him in the same general conversation as Brenen Lorient and Javan Buchanan, who were recently granted a preliminary injunction for a fifth year while the NCAA appeals.
For West Virginia, the issue is not just whether Huff gets another season. The Mountaineers already have a full roster, so a favorable ruling would force difficult decisions about who stays, who goes and how the staff manages the scholarship and playing-time picture. Even before any final answer arrives, it is another reminder of how the eligibility fight around the sport is starting to shape roster building in real time. [Read more 🡒]