One WVU football player made a huge impact for WVU with his running ability during the Backyard Bawl as he ran all over Pitt's defense on Saturday during a 31-24 win.
A transfer from FCS program Northern Iowa, Tye Edwards was a big pickup for head coach Rich Rodriguez and company in January. Edwards is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound running back who earned his first career carries in a WVU uniform in Saturday’s win over Pitt. Edwards was a major reason why the Mountaineers were able to mount a comeback to claim the 108th edition of the Backyard Brawl.
Finishing the game with 25 carries and 141 rushing yards, adding three rushing touchdowns, Edwards was the clear choice for who was getting reps in the backfield alongside one of the three quarterbacks who played against Pitt. Edwards claimed 65.7% of the carries from all carries from a running back. Dominating the workload allowed Edwards to continue to settle in and find a rhythm running the ball.
"Yes, he’s gotten a lot more work the last two weeks since he became eligible. He was in pretty good shape. We told him that he is a big, strong back and he needs to use his power. He did today. He ran with a purpose," Rodriguez said after the win.
Feeling TYE-high tonight📈
— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) September 14, 2025
✅ 3 TDs
✅ 21 Carries
✅ 141 YDs
Tye Edwards Highlights vs. Pitt🎬#Big12FB | @WVUfootball pic.twitter.com/oCbUedMqs9
Beginning the game as the third-string running back on the depth chart, Edwards was able to take advantage of some favorable situations and use his strengths to have a career game. It all starts with Edwards' massive frame. With his imposing size, the Palatka, Florida, native is one of the most physically built runners on the WVU roster.
Edwards has the highest chance of success when he is running between the offensive tackles. That is exactly how Rodriguez used the bruising back, leading to three touchdowns, including the final touchdown in overtime to seal the 31-24 win over the Pitt Panthers.
It helped that he was going against a defense perfectly suited for him to succed as well. Pitt’s three starting linebackers were Kyle Louis, Braylan Lovelace, and Rasheem Biles, who are a bit of a smaller group compared to other Power Four teams. Louis is listed at 6-foot-1 and 222 pounds, Lovelace is listed at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, and Biles is listed at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds.
Pitt’s linebackers, including Preseason All-American Louis, are known for being able to fly around and make plays on the edge and in the passing game. But they are not exceptionally known for being run stuffers in the box. Edwards took advantage of the smaller-sized linebackers for Pitt. Matched against three linebackers that are all his size or smaller, Edwards did not waste his chance to power run over the front seven for Pitt.
After tragically losing Jahiem White for the rest of the season due to an injury, the running back room was up in the air for who would be moving into the different types of roles and responsibilities. Edwards earned the workhorse role for at least the game against Pitt. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, it is unknown if Edwards will take over the workhorse role that White was in before his injury. But for at least the Pitt game, it was obvious that Edwards was going to be the every-down type of running back in the Rodriguez offense.
It is clear that Edwards can be successful on the ground given a couple of parameters. If he is used as a between-the-tackles runner, gets an okay push from his front five on the line, and has a favorable matchup against the front seven on the opposing defense, then all of this is a great recipe for the seventh-year running back to have a positive impact on the ground. We saw how well it worked against Pitt.
Going forward, could Edwards be the mainstay in the backfield for the Rodriguez offense? We are going to have to wait to see what shakes out next Saturday when WVU travels to Lawrence, Kansas, to take on the Kansas Jayhawks.