West Virginia makes Pat White’s No. 5 decision official before season opener

Pat White returned to West Virginia as a coach this season. On Saturday, the Mountaineers made sure his impact as a player would never be forgotten.

West Virginia retired White’s No. 5 jersey before its season opener against Coastal Carolina, making him only the seventh player in program history to receive the honor. The ceremony reunited White with the fans who watched him transform the Mountaineers into a national contender from 2005 through 2008.

White finished his West Virginia career with a 35-8 record as the starting quarterback. He also became the first college quarterback to start and win four bowl games, leading the Mountaineers to victories in the Sugar, Gator, Fiesta and Meineke Car Care bowls.

His 4,480 career rushing yards remain one of the greatest totals ever produced by a college quarterback.

At the end of White’s career, he held Big East records for total offense with 10,529 yards and touchdowns responsible for with 103. He also went 7-2 against ranked opponents. Those numbers explain why West Virginia retired his jersey. They do not fully explain what White meant to the program.

Pat White helped create West Virginia’s greatest modern era

White represented everything that made those West Virginia teams so dangerous. He was fast enough to turn an ordinary option play into a touchdown, composed enough to perform on the biggest stages and tough enough to handle the punishment that came with carrying the football repeatedly.

His partnership with coach Rich Rodriguez and running back Steve Slaton helped produce one of the most explosive offenses of that era. Now White is back in Morgantown as an assistant quarterbacks coach and assistant to the head coach under Rodriguez.

The reunion added another layer of emotion to Saturday’s ceremony. West Virginia wore white uniforms and encouraged its fans to wear white in White’s honor. The university will not officially remove No. 5 from circulation until the end of the season, allowing fifth-year receiver Jaden Bray to finish his college career with the number.

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White’s No. 5 will then belong exclusively to West Virginia history. White is the seventh Mountaineers player to have his number retired.

The Miami Dolphins selected White in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. His professional career never reached the heights many envisioned, but that did nothing to diminish his place in West Virginia football.

For an entire generation of fans, White was West Virginia football. He produced unforgettable victories, elevated the program nationally and gave the Mountaineers a style opponents struggled to replicate.

Now the number that defined that era will never belong to another West Virginia player. White returned to help build West Virginia’s future, but Saturday ensured his remarkable past will always have a permanent place in Morgantown.

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