The West Virginia Mountaineers are set to begin their season this weekend, and ahead of kickoff, they will honor current assistant coach and former starting quarterback Pat White byretiring his No. 5 jersey.
White played for the Mountaineers from 2004-2008, taking over the starting role his true freshman season and holding onto it through his senior year. During his time starting at West Virginia, he led the program to a 35-8 record, posting a 4-0 record in bowl games. He would finish his career with 103 all-purpose touchdowns, and 10,529 yards of total offense.
White was recruited and started for three season underneath current head coach Rich Rodriguez, during the veteran coach's first tenure with the program. And Rodriguez has plenty to say about White and why he deserves the honor.
Rich Rodriguez opens up about honoring Pat White during West Virginia's Week 1 game
Rodriguez was asked about what it meant to get to honor White with a jersey retirement during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. His answergave some insightful perspectiveon just how special White's career for the Mountaineers truly was.
“That’s a great honor," Rodriguez said. "It’s one of the greatest honors any athlete could ever have at a university — you’ve done so well there that they want to retire your number forever."
"And not just as an athlete, but what you meant to the program. Everybody that gets their number retired probably made an indelible impact on that program for decades, and that’s what Patrick did. People are still talking about what he did 20 years ago. He was always about the team first, and what do I need to do to have West Virginia have success?”
Rich Rodriguez on retiring Pat White's jersey this weekend:
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB)September 1, 2026
"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."pic.twitter.com/CigZ37IM8M
It's easy to forget just how big of an impact White had on the program at West Virginia, as well as on college football as a whole. But he hadan absolutely remarkable careerpacked to the brim with incredible achievements, and Rodriguez's comments are a great reminder of that fact.
The ceremony retiring White's jersey will take place before kickoff 11:45 AM, and the fans are encouraged to wear white to support the legendary West Virginia quarterback.
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