True freshman running back Jahiem White has been turning the heads with his quick burst and speed.
But to get to the position he’s at now, he had to change some things off the field before he could get on it.
So far this season the turf burner, from York, Pennsylvania, has accumulated 270 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
White saw his most volume against an FCS Duquesne team on Sep. 9. On 12 carries, White rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown with a longest run of 39 yards.
Since then, White has had trouble finding the same success, seeing fewer touches. The reason for this could be something as simple as his body language.
“Me moving around in my body language. Like that was the main thing I had to work on and focus on,” White said.
“More so of like being where his feet are at, you know. Sometimes bad body language, you know, kind of mopes around as if he’s not in it and that may not be the case, but you know, getting him to understand the importance of what his body language reads, what his body language says,” offensive coordinator and running backs coach Chad Scott.
White took the coaching and made the changes, which have now began to pay off.
“It (body language) has always been something for me. I don’t know why, but I mean it’s something that I worked on and improved on so,” White said.
As a freshman, White has had to deal with some learning curves but did not have to face them alone due to mentorship from elder teammates such as fellow running back CJ Donaldson.
“Jahiem’s worst day last week was Saturday morning of the walk-through, he couldn’t get lined up,” Scott said.
“CJ (Donaldson) said, coach, I got him, don’t say nothing to him, I got him. He said, ‘coach, I got him, he going to be alright,'” Scott said.
Donaldson’s positive reinforcement and White’s body language adjustments showed up on the field and the stat sheet Saturday in a win against UCF.
White made the most of nine rushing attempts, totaling 85 yards on the ground and his second touchdown of the season.
“I’ve been telling the world, Jahiem White is a special young man,” Scott said. “He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s explosive.”
Currently, White is running for 7.9 yards a carry. With growing confidence among his coaches and increased production, White can take on an increased workload as WVU enters the final month of the season.
White, listed at 5’7″, is a more elusive back and seems like the perfect compliment to the hard-running style of CJ Donaldson and the ever-versatile, Justin Johnson Jr.
“When people tell me [I’m small], I don’t really get into it. I just don’t like to get into it. It don’t matter about the size,” White said.
