A pair of freshmen catching the eye of coaches early in fall camp

It should not be much of a surprise two freshmen are making an impact less than a week into fall camp, when their names are Rodney Gallagher and Jahiem White, but that’s exactly what the both of them are doing.

Gallagher — who was WVU’s prized recruit — didn’t arrive on campus until the summer, and head coach Neal Brown is already seeing his impact.

“I’ve been pleasently surprised, Rodney’s probably put on about 12-14 pounds since he’s been here which has given him an opportunity to compete,” Brown said.

The most welcomed aspect for Brown is Gallagher’s ability to block as he played quarterback in high school and therefore was not blocking on the outside.

“He’s blocked a lot better than I probably anticipated early on because he’s never had to. He’s never really had to block, so he’s been more physical and he’s made a couple of really contested catches over the middle,” Brown said. “I don’t think surprised is the right word, but i’ve been pleased with those two aspects.”

White is another freshman who is standing out on the offensive side of the ball. A running back, White has been on campus since January, and went through the entire spring practice slate.

“Jahiem really came on probably the last two weeks of spring practice,” Brown said. “He’s just quicker and his running style is much different than the other guys we have in the backfield and he’s versatile. He catches the ball, he’s really sudden. I felt like this coming out of the spring that he would play and he hasn’t done anything but help himself out over the summer and through our first four practices.”

White showed his ability in WVU’s spring game, rushing for 91 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries, and his athleticism and speed is what offensive coordinator Chad Scott sees is his current value to what is a deep running back room for the Mountaineers.

“He’s a kid that we got to get the ball in his hands,” Scott said. “We knew he was fast, we knew he was special with the ball in his hands, so we want him to continue to be fast. So we can’t put a lot on his plate force him to go out there and think.”

West Virginia’s offense could be relying on both parties to help them have success. Last year, freshman CJ Donaldson made an instant impact, and with Gallagher’s speed and shiftiness, he could also play a role on the outside for the Mountaineers.

Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports