Pat White Candidly Details Journey, WVU Adjusting Rules to Retire His Number

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Introduced as both the assistant quarterbacks coach and WVU legend, Pat White opened up about his journey, one that’s led him to receiving the highest honor bestowed on a player at West Virginia.

Days before watching his numbered added to a wall inside Milan Puskar Stadium, White talked about what it means to him and even how he’s viewed having to wait for it to happen.

“It means I’m forever connected to a unique state that sits somewhere in the middle of the South and the North that because of many reasons is unique…it means that I helped prove to a lot of young men from lower Alabama that there’s more out there in this world than Alabama and Auburn football,” said White.

He also made sure to say “it’s going to be a big win” before unpacking what he expects to feel emotionally on Saturday afternoon.

“For me personally, it’ll be excellent to see my parents get back to Morgantown, experience Mountaineer Madness again – it’s been awhile since they’ve been in that stadium. To see my brothers here enjoying it, my wife and kids, allow my nephew to get the gold and blue running strong through his veins.”

However, White even touched on the fact the WVU football program had to adjust its longstanding rules for players to be considered for a number retirement beyond being inducted into the school’s sports Hall of Fame.

Former WVU head coach Don Nehlen’s name is revealed on a wall inside Milan Puskar Stadium during a November, 2023 ceremony. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

While White didn’t offer too much detail, he said he understood that he didn’t meet the requirements, but he’s thankful that an exception was made to grant him the honor.

His current boss and old coach Rich Rodriguez provided some comments of his own.

“That’s one of the greatest honors any athletes could ever have…he made an impact while he was here of course, but he made an impact where people 20 years later are still talking about what he did.”

Many consider White the greatest Mountaineer football player of all time, and his induction into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and football’s Mountaineer Legends Society has long been solidified by first-ballot voting in 2018.

Pat White’s WVU Biography:

White was the nation’s most versatile threat at quarterback, becoming the first college quarterback to start and win four consecutive bowl games from 2005-08. The Daphne, Alabama, native set 19 WVU, Big East and national records during his illustrious career, including finishing as the all-time rushing quarterback in NCAA history with 4,480 yards.

West Virginia was 35-8 (.814) with White as the starting quarterback. He led the Mountaineers to wins in the 2006 Sugar, 2007 Gator, 2008 Fiesta and 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowls. White set Big East records in touchdowns responsible for (103), total offense (10,529) and became the first player in Big East history to pass for more than 10,000 yards. He posted a 7-2 (.777) record against Top 25 opponents during his career.

As a freshman in 2005, White earned first team freshman All-America honors by The Sporting News, Scout and College Football News, leading WVU to a BIG East title, finishing the season 10-1 and 7-0 in the Big East with a win over No. 8 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Courtesy of WVU Athletics

As a sophomore, White was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award. Against Pitt, he rushed for 220 yards and threw for 204, becoming one of only eight players in NCAA history to rush and pass for 200 yards in the same game. White directed the Mountaineers to a Gator Bowl win over Georgia Tech and earned Gator Bowl MVP honors.

In 2007, White was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year as well as earning All-Big East First Team honors for the second consecutive year, while leading WVU to another Big East title. He was named a semifinalist for the O’Brien Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards while finishing sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. The season ended with WVU’s second BCS victory in three years with a Fiesta Bowl win over No. 3 Oklahoma as he earned Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP honors.

In White’s final season, he eclipsed the 4,000-yard rushing, 6,000-yard passing, 10,000-yard total offense and 4,000-yard all-purpose yardage marks. He threw for a bowl-record 332 yards on 26-of-32 passing and three touchdowns in the win against North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

White’s No. 5 will become the seventh number retired in football and will join prestigious company in Major Harris (9), Ira Rodgers (21), Chuck Howley (66), Sam Huff (75), Bruce Bosley (77) and Darryl Talley (90).

Find more coverage of Pat White at WV Sports Now.